Unexpected Events Book 1
by Hufflepuff Heart
Summary: Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, James, Sirius, Remus and Lily all end up in a mysterious room with 7 books and the only way to get out is to read them all, what will they uncover can they change the future?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys and gals i've decided to do one of these stories cause I've read heaps and I wanted to do one so here goes.**

_**Chapter 1**_

James, Remus, Sirius and Lily were all sitting under their favorite palm tree on the Hogwarts grounds just relaxing. Peter wasn't there cause he was on detention with Mcgonagall. Then all of a sudden there was a bright purple light and they were gone.

…...

Bill Weasley had just finished cracking some ancient spell that were on a tomb they had just found when the same purple light flashed and he was gone.

…...

His brother Charlie was sitting on his bed trying to get some sleep after along day of wrestling dragons all day when again the purple light came and he disappeared.

…...

All over London people were disappearing into this mysterious purple light. Mr and Mrs Weasley at the burrow, Percy at the ministry, Fred and George at Weasley Wizard Wheezes and finally, Harry had just got back from detention with Snape when he was pulled into the common room by a dozen hands. A party was in full swing and there was Ginny running towards him, Ron was yelling "We Won" brandishing a shiny silver cup and next to him was Hermione beaming at him. When Ginny threw her arms

around Harry two very surprising things Harry kissed her and a purple light surrounded Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny but neither of them noticed so they kept going until they heard several people yell "What the". When Harry and Ginny finally broke apart Harry noticed two things one they were not in the Gryffindor common room anymore they were in a room with different chairs, couches, hammocks and bean bags and he had 6 redhead all shooting daggers at him but he didn't care all he did was pull away from Ginny, snake his hand around her race and smirk at her brothers.

Fred and George were just standing there with their mouths in O shape and the rest of them looked like they had been hit over their heads with a bludger.

Molly and Arthur were just standing their smiling at them.

"Oi James" Sirius muttered "Look that kids looks like you and he likes a red-head ironic ay"

"Ok... so does anyone where we are?" Hermione asked breaking the silence

"I don't know but maybe we should introduce ourselves I'm Arthur Weasley"

"Molly Weasley"

"I'm Bill Weasley these are my brothers Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ron and our **little** sister Ginny" He said the last part through clenched teeth

"I'm Hermione Granger"

"Harry Potter" Still smiling like an idiot but did not miss the few gasps heard around the room.

"Remus Lupin or Moony" The twins straightened up

Sirius Black,Padfoot"

James Potter,Prongs"

"No way, Gred it's the Marauders"

"i know"

"Ahh so you've heard of us" said Sirius smirking at the twins

"Heard of you, you guys are our idols"

"it's nice to know we have influenced the next generation of pranksters ay padfoot"

"Defiantly! Prongs"

During all this Harry just stood their staring at the people with his mouth open slightly.

"Excuse me" said a red-headed girl with bright emerald green eyes "If anyone wants to know I'm Lily Evens"

Before anyone could say anything a note popped out of thin air right in front of Hermione so she took it and read:

"_Dear Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Remus, Sirius, James and Lily" _"WOW could have just said dear everyone" Hermione said then continued "_We have brought you to read all about Harry's past and Future. On the table there are 7 books all about Harry's 7 years at Hogwarts." _With a sudden pop 7 books landed with a 'thud' on the table it the middle of the circle of chairs_ "no one can leave this room until you have finished all of them but don't worry we will provide food, beds and a bathroom. Now just a few things to remember we need you to trust everyone in this room you are all here for a reason and that the future is not set in stone._

_Sincerely H.J.P, R.B.W, H.J.W and G.M.P_

_P.S To all you Weasley boys please don't kill Harry :)_

"Wonder who they are" Ron asked

"It's us" Harry stated

"Huh"

"well I'm H.J.P Harry James Potter"

"wait what did you say your middle name was james" james asked

"Yeah um I don't really know how to tell you this but um hi dad"

"Oh My Godic, Padfoot I have a son" James said as he ran over to hug his son

"All I have to say is that I better be his godfather" he replied

"Oh don't worry you are" Harry said over his father's shoulder

Sirius punched the air is triumph

"What about me do you know who I am" Remus said looking worried

"Yep best defense against the dark arts teacher we ever had" Harry said grinning

"cool" was all he said

"So son who's your mum"

Harry pulled back and looked over at Lily who was in shock.

Now it was James' turn to punch the air in triumph at he yelled "yes I got Evens"

Harry laughed at that

"So what do we do know do I work at the Auror office?"

Harry's smile faded from his face so did everyone else's from his time

"So back to what you were saying Harry" Ron piped up trying to change the subject from Harry's parents.

"Oh yeah so I'm H.J.P and your R.B.W Ronald Billius Weasley and I don't know the other two are"

"I think I do" Hermione interjected "Well my name is Hermione Jean so I'm guessing the third person is me and my new name is Weasley" she said while she blushed "and as for G.M.P I don't know for certain but Ginny whats your middle name?"

"Molly why? Oh" she gasped in realization and started to blush to the roots of her hair.

"So I was right" Hermione stated "G.M.P is Ginny Molly Potter"

All the Weasley brothers ears started to go red at the sound of their little sister getting married to Harry.

But after Harry had recovered from the shock he turned to Ginny and kissed her full on the lips not caring if her brothers where there or not.

"ok" Remus said interrupting their thoughts "maybe we should start reading if we ever want to get out of here"

murmurs of agreement filled the room

"So i'll read first" he said picking up the the first book "we'll swap readers each chapter and we'll go around the circle"

"OK the first one is called '**Harry Potter and The Philospher's Stone**'

The trio chuckled at the name

"what?"

"nothing they said in unison.

"OK first chapter **'The Boy who Lived'**


	2. The Boy Who Lived

"**The Boy Who Lived"** Harry Groaned

Remus continued

"**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive,**

"Dursley" Lily thought "Why does that sound familiar?"

**were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."**

Harry scoffed at that

"**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. **

"Whats a drill?" All the pureblood asked

"Its a tool muggles use to make holes in things" Hermione stated

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache.**

"Appealing" Sirius muttered to James

**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, **

"That sounds a lot like tunny" Lily thought to herself

**which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

Harry, Ron, Fred and George all laughed at that all having met Dudley

"Whats so funny" Remus asked

"Nothing" they all said

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.**

"They forgot to floss" Sirius said in a dramatic voice "How dare they!" The room snickered at his antics.

**They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"Hey" Lily and James yelled "Whats wrong with my family"

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister,**

Lily's eyes widened she had been right

**but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,**

Lily looked sad at that her and petunia used to be so close James put an arm around her should to try and comfort her and motioned for Remus to continue.

**because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. **

"Like we'ed want to be" yelled James

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him.**

"Now thats just rude having never met your own nephew" Said Arthur

**This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Theres nothing wrong with Harry" Hermione, Ginny and Ron all said at once

"Thanks guys" He was really great full he had such good friends

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. **

"I wonder what happened" Remus thought aloud

**Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**

"Why the most boring tie thats just stupid"Fred said

**and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"Nice Boy" lily muttered

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

"How can you not notice an owl" Ron asked

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley**

"He encouraging the child to act like that that just dumb" Molly said

**as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner**

**of Privet Drive,**

"Minnie"James and Sirius Chuckled

**but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Durs- ley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, _looking _at the sign; cats couldn't read maps _or _signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

"How exciting" Ginny exclaimed

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"Wizards?" was the general question around the room

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by.**

"We're not weirdos" Charlie said

"Well to him everyone in the wizarding world in a weirdo" Harry explained

**They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt these people were obviously collecting for something . . . yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. _He _didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped over-head. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"What a productive morning" George commented his voice full of sarcasm

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —" "— yes, their son, Harry —"**

Everyone from the future stiffened they all knew what they were talking about this didn't go unnoticed by the past people though

"Whats wrong" Lily asked

Harry only shook his head and stared at the floor so Remus continued.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking . . . no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew _was _called Harry.**

"How can he not even know his nephews name" Molly said getting angrier and angrier by the minute.

**He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. **

"Both terrible names" James said trying to lighten the mood he got a few half-heartened chuckles and motioned for Remus to continue.

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if _he'd _had a sister like that **

"Hey theres nothing wrong with Lily" yelled James, Sirius and Remus she smiled at them and Remus to keep going

**. . . but all the same, those people in cloaks . . .**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"**Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last!**

All the people from the past gasps and then started to celebrate they were cheering and hugging

until James noticed that all of the future people had sad expressions their face because they knew that his downfall came at a terrible price.

"Hey whats wrong?"

"You'll see" Ginny said while she rubbed Harry's back while he just sat there with his head in his hands.

Once everyone had calm down Remus began to read again

**Even Muggles like your- self should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

"He could actually reach around? Thats surprising" Fred said trying to lighten the mood

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"How lovely" Lily commented

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw — and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes. "Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. **

"Defiantly Minnie" Sirius said having been on the receiving end of that look many time before.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

"**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

"**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters . . .**

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

"**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls . . . shooting stars . . . and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today . . ."**

"**_So_?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

"**Well, I just thought . . . maybe . . . it was something to do with...youknow..._her _crowd."**

"Her crowd" Everyone roared

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly. "What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?" "Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me." **

"Well I like it" Ginny said smiling

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front gar- den. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did . . . if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

"Excuse me" Ginny yelled. Harry took her hand to calm her it worked a bit but she was still angry.

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters _were _involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind. . . . He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect _them. _. . .**

**How very wrong he was.**

"Oh yes he was" Harry muttered to himself

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"Yay! old dumbles is always a good sign"

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. **

"Cool" Ron said "I want one"

**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into dark- ness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

"**How did you know it was me?" she asked. "My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls . . . shooting stars. . . . Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"Wow thats a long time" Lily said

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You- Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really _has _gone, Dumbledore?"**

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"**A _what_?"**

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

"Good old Dumbledore" Remus said

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who _has _gone —"**

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: _Voldemort._" Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dum- bledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."**

"**I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, _Voldemort, _was frightened of."**

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"Only because he is to noble to use them" Lily explained

"**Only because you're too — well — _noble _to use them."**

Everyone lightened up at that seeing the resemblance in Lily and their professor.

"**It's lucky its dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

"Ewwww" was all that was heard

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the _rumors _that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

"I wonder what happened?" Sirius said

"Well maybe if you be quiet and let Remus read you might find out" Lily snapped at him

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. "What they're _saying,_" she pressed on,**

Remus gasped and dropped the book having read the next line

All the future people knew what he had just read at once but the past didn't so before anyone could stop her Lily picked up the book and read aloud

"**is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that**

**they're — _dead._"**

Again the book was dropped as Lily began to cry, James and just sitting there staring at the wall as if frozen and Sirius had a small breakdown

"NO" he yelled "YOU GUYS CA'T DIE IM NOT GONNA LET THIS HAPPEN" after everyone calmed down and Lily stopped crying she looked over at Harry who had his eyes on the floor and was wiping away a stray tear. She stood up and walked over to him and sat on his other side and tapped him on the shoulder he looked up to see his mother looking into his eyes but before he said anything she pulled him into tight hug. Sniffles were heard around as those witnessed a family moment, soon after Lily moved over James moved over to embrace his son and future wife. When all noise was gone except the sniffles coming from the three potters Arthur picked up the book and began to read again.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James . . . I can't believe it . . . I didn't want to believe it . . . Oh, Albus . . ." Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know . . . I know . . ." he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potters' son, Harry. **

"He what" Lily screamed suddenly getting up her eye's gleaming with anger"

"Mum its alright I'm fine see" Harry tried calming his mother down but then James joined in

"How dare trying to kill a helpless baby thats just wrong" Once the to had calmed down Arthur continued

**But — he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."**

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"**It's — it's _true_?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done . . . all the people he's killed . . . he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding . . . of all the things to stop him . . . but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"Because he's a Potter we're awesome" James explained those around shook their head in amusement at his antics

"**We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; in- stead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me _why _you're here, of all places?"**

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. **

"WHAT" James, Lily Sirius and Remus all yelled

"No! He can't live there, Why can't Harry live me or Sirius" Remus yelled

**They're the only family he has left now."**

"**You don't mean — you _can't _mean the people who live _here_?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"A LETTER" Lily scremed

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future — there will be books written about Harry —**

Everyone laughed at that

**every child in our world will know his name!"**

"Especially our little Ginny-kinns" Fred said mockingly

"Of course where would Ginny-kins be if she didn't have Harry?"

Ginny was giving both of them her most ferocious glare its a surprise they didn't burst into flames.

"Boys stop" Moly said in a warning tone

James and Sirius were snickering through the whole exchange so Harry did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out at both of them.

"**Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"**Hagrid's bringing him."**

"**You think it — _wise _— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life" James and Harry said

"Wow like father like son ay prongs" a few chuckles were heard after that

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

A few more chuckles were heard

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so _wild _— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climb- ing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me.**

"Cool I get I flying motorbike"

**I've got him, sir."**

"**No problems, were there?"**

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

Harry rubbed his scar absentmindedly

"Um can we see" Lily whispered "your father and I mean"

Harry nodded and lifted up his bang to show his parents his lighting bolt shape scar

"**Is that where — ?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever." "Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?" "Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. **

"Eww too much information" Sirius said while wrinkling his nose

**Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

"**Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"I take offense to that" Sirius pouted folding his arms on his cheast, James, Remus, Harry, Ron and Hermione all laughed at his comment

"you guys know?" Remus asked

"Yeah and we also know your a werwolf" Hermione added

"and you don't mind"

"Of course we don't! why would we?" Harry answered

"He truly is your son" Remus said as he turned to Lily and James "Exceedingly kind.

"Not mention loyal, brave and bloody noble for his own good" Ginny said slapping Harry up-side the head

"Hey" he said rubbing the back of his head "what was that for"

"As I said for being to bloody noble"

"He gets that from this one"Lily said pointing at James

"Come lets keep reading or we'll never finish" Harry said

"**Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handker- chief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it — Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —"**

"**Yes, yes, its all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'd best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

"Cool"

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley. . . . He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

"Well thats the end of the Chapter who wants to read next"

"I will" Said Molly as she took the book in her hands and read

"**Chapter Two" **She read **"The Vanishing Glass"**


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**Hey guys sorry I haven't updated in a while had Sirius writers block (see what I did there lol) Just like to say thanks to everyone who put this story on alert or fav story or me on alert or fav author and to all the people who reviewed all that meant a lot to me seeing people read and like my story. Well I hope you like this next chapter**

**Love Rachel Weasley 99 **

"Well thats the end of the chapter who wants to read next"

"I will" Molly said as she took the book in her hand and began

"**Chapter Two"** she read **"The Vanishing Glass"**

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets — but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

"Maybe, Hopefully Me or Remus came and saved you" Sirius Suggested but Harry knew he was wrong.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there,**

"Damm" Sirius muttered

**asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

"What a lovely wake up call" Ginny said sarcasm dripping from her voice. 

"**Up! Get up! Now!" Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again. "Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"Thats some memory you got there Harry" Remus commented

**His aunt was back outside the door. "Are you up yet?" she demanded. "Nearly," said Harry. "Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon.**

"They made you cook at Ten!" said Molly "How long have you had to make breakfast?" she demanded.

"Since I was six" Harry said timidly

"WHAT" Several people around the room yelled

"My mum and dad wouldn't let me touch the stove till I was thirteen" Hermione said

**And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

**Harry groaned. "What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door. "Nothing, nothing . . ." Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them,**

Ron Shuddered

**put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

"WHERE YOU WHAT" James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Molly, Ginny, Hermione and Ronscreamed

"Harry mate why didn't you tell us?" Ron said sounding hurt

"Because I didn't want you to worry"

"See like I said to-bloody-noble-for-his-own-good" Ginny said hitting Harry with every word.

"I just cant believe Tuney would do that" Lily said while James put an arm around and pulling her closer.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

"Spoiled Brat" Bill muttered

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

"Just like his father" James said proudly thumping Harry on the back

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"Nop its potter geans sorry kid" Sirius said while James sent him a death stare **  
>He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.<strong>

"I love those" James and Ginny said at the same making Lily and Harry blush.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. **

A growl was heard around the room at that.

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. **

"I never thought I'd hear you say that mate" Ron chuckled

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

"**In the car crash when your parents died," **

"What how can she lie to him about a thing like that" Molly was astounded

**she had said. "And don't ask questions."**

**_Don't ask questions _— that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

"**Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

"Not gonna work" James and Harry muttered while both running a hand through his hair.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place.**

"The potter hair" James chuckled

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.**

"Attractive" Ginny muttered

**Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel — Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Everyone laughed at that

"Looks like he didn't get James humour" Remus laughed

"hey" James pouted

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"He complaining about getting 36 presents" Molly huffed

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."**

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another _two _presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? _Two _more presents. Is that all right?"**

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty . . . thirty . . ."**

"sweet merlin he can't even count" lily said with a little irritation in her voice

"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"Don't tell him"

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" **

"He's encouraging that"

**He ruffled Dudley's hair. At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction. Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbies, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. "Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy." The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he**

**wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?"**

"**On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. "And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. "I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"I think you should" Sirius said with a smirk

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, ". . . and leave him in the car. . . ." **

"**That cars new, he's not sitting in it alone. . . ." Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him any- thing he wanted.**

"**Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

"oh come on no one is that gullible" Bill exclaimed

"**I . . . don't . . . want . . . him . . . t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mothers arms.**

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once. Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.**

"With your luck its not gonna be this good for long" Ron and Hermione said

**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but be- fore they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy any funny business, anything at all and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"Thats not even legal" Molly exclaimed

**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly . . ." But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen. Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

"Awwwww" said the room everyone feeling sorry about Harry's horrible childhood

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he _couldn't _explain how it had grown back so quickly. Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished. On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

"Wow thats some magic apparating at that age" Charlie said impressed

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump. But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"They must really love you" Ginny said sarcasticly 

**This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"**. . . roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"Bad idea" people around the room muttered

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

"**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

"Oh come on they got their son and his fiends big chocolate ice-creams and they got harry a cheap ice block" Lily said getting frustrated with her sister

"I wasn't that bad" Harry commented 

**It wasn't bad, either,**

the room chuckled

**Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond. **

"Nice one Harry" Sirius laughed

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. **

"If they touch him I swear..." James said growling

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top,**

"Oh boo-hoo get over it" Ginny said annoyed

**Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"Of course it was" Hermione said

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

"**Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house. The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

_**It winked. **_**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

"**_I get that all the time._"**

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, **

"What you were talking to the snake?" James commented very surprised that his son was a paselmouth

"Yeah but I didn't know what it meant back then"

**though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying." The snake nodded vigorously. "Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass.**

**Harry peered at it. Boa Constrictor, Brazil. "Was it nice there?" The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry**

**read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see so you've never been to Brazil?"**

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T _BELIEVE _WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs.**

James and Lily growled

**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

"Hahahaha serves then right" Fred and George said laughing

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come. . . . Thanksss, amigo."**

Everyones eyes from the past went wide

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

"**But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, **

"Wish it had" Harry muttered

**while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.**

"And again wish it had"

**But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"Oh my godric shut up you rat" Ginny yelled

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

"Ah theres the Marauders inside him"

"ugh we really don't need more of those" Lily complained

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash.**

More growls were heard around the room

**He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all.**

"Sorry we couldn't be there Harry" James said feeling guilty

"It's not your fault it Voldemort's all Voldemort's" 

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened;**

"Sorry Harry" Sirius and Remus said at the same time

"It's fine really I did meet you in the end" Harry said smiling remembering the year he had met his dads two best friends

**the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Well thats the end" Molly stated "who wants to read next"

"I will" Charlie said

Molly passed the book over to Charlie and he read

"**Chapter Four Letters from no one"**


	4. Letters From no one

"**Chapter 3" He read "Letters From No one"**

"**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

"Excuse me" Lily said getting angrier every minute

"mum it's fine I'm alright"

"No it's not fine" Ginny and James said in unison which cause everyone to laugh and Ginny to blush like any Weasley would.

"**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. **

"**When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," Dudly told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?" "No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." **

Everyone laughed at Harry remark

"that'a boy" James said very proud of his sons jokes

"**Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's house. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years."**

"That was nice of her even though it was stale" Lily said happily

"**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

"Are you kidding me" was the general ring out in the room

"**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grownup. \**

"This boy is your age right" Remus asked chuckling

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh."**

"**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

"**What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

"**Your new school uniform," she said. Harry looked in the bowl again. "Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet." **

They all laughed loudly at Harry's sarcasm.

"He definitely got his sarcasm from Lily" Sirius muttered to Remus which caused him to chuckle

"**Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

"**Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"**Make Harry get it." "Get the mail, Harry." "Make Dudley get it."**

"you tell him Harry" Sirius said

"**Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"Don't you dare" Molly said in a dangerous voice

"**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and _a letter for Harry."_**

Harry smiled for he knew what it was

"**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Mr. H. Potter The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive Little Whinging Surrey**

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter _H._**

"Yes! Your Hogwarts letter your finally getting out of there" James said getting excited

"**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

"How lame!" commented the twins in unison.

"Oh shut up you two!" said Ginny. Funny enough they did stop talking but kept smirking at her.

"**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope."**

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

"**Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk . . ."**

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"Oh shut up" said surprisingly by Hermione

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"**That's _mine_!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

"**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it."**

"Now isn't that a stupid question? Who would write to Harry!" said Ron, lightly punching Harry in the arm.

"Yeah. Only half the frickin' wizarding world!" said Ginny.

"Yes and a special little love letter from our little sister!" said Fred looking for a reaction from Ginny and Harry.

Harry and Ginny both blushed violently before Ginny managed to blurt out a "Shut up!" to the twins.

"**His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

"**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

"**Vernon! Oh my goodness Vernon!"**

"Drama queen" Lily muttered "always has been always will be"

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly. "_I _want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's _mine._" "Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. Harry didn't move. "I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"Ah theres Lily's temper" Sirius said while laughing which got him a punch on the arm from Lily

"**Let _me _see it!" demanded Dudley.**

"It's not yours"

"**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

"**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"**Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

"Who in their right mind would want to follow _them_ around?" said Harry desperately. "I mean, all I wanted to do when I stay there is get away from them!"

"We can see what you mean, Harry." said Remus, obviously sympathetic towards Harry's case.

"**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —"**

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.**

"**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer. . . . Yes, that's best . . . we won't do anything. . . ."**

"Like thats gonna work" Bill said "They'll just keep trying until they get a response"

"**But —"**

"**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

"STAMP OUT" Molly, Lily and James all screamed at the same time making everyone in the room jump in surprise and fear.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

"**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**

"WHAT"

"**It was _not _a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

"**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**

Ron shuddered again

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

"**Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking . . . you're really getting a bit big for it . . . we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**

"What he made my son sleep in a bloody cupboard and his pig of a son got two bedrooms" James screamed he and the rest of the room were fuming 

"**Why?" said Harry.**

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

"**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of**

**books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't _want _him in there . . . I _need _that room . . . make him get out. . . ."**

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —' "**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.**

"**Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go."**

"Why couldn't he have gone to America or something?" Hermione mumbled under her breath.

"**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door —**

"**AAAAARRRGH!"**

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something _alive_! **

"Oh my Godric that brilliant you steped on his big fat face" Sirius laughed

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

"**I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes."**

"That's evil!" said Lily. "Who does that? I swear if I ever meet that man..." This time it was James who calmed her down by patting her on the back.

"No, no. I said I will get to give him what he deserves if I meet him. See, I'm a man and we are expected to do stupid things to each other every now and again. So don't go wrecking that little image of yours and let me do it first." said James, now putting his arm around her shoulder.

"**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

"**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't _deliver _them they'll just give up."**

"**I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

"**Oh, these peoples minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden in- side each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

"**Who on earth wants to talk to _you _this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"Don't get me started! There's the Minister for magic, the muggle Mayor, Mr Kingsley... the list could go on forever!" said Hermione sarcastically.

"Oh my gosh! Hermione just made a joke!" said Ron mockingly.

"I swear if nobody else was here..." said Hermione gritting her teeth.

"You two would be snogging each other to death, we know, we know!" said George(or was it Fred?).

"SHUT UP!" they both chorused at the twins.

"Geez, geez!" they mumbled.

"**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

"**No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —" Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next mo- ment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one — "Out! OUT!" Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into**

**the hall. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

"**That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while."**

"What a loony! Even Luna's not that bad!" said Ginny honestly.

"**Shake 'em off . . . shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering. . . .**

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

" '**Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Mr. H. Potter Room 17 Railview Hotel Cokeworth**

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

"What she would have thought..." said Ron.

"**I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.**

"**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

"**Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.**

"He was already mad dear." Harry said in a rather realistic copy of Petunia's voice. They howled with laughter but were quickly shushed up when Molly said "We're never going to finish if you keep talking!".

"**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniffled.**

"**It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a _television._"**

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it _was _Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

"**Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the**

**rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

"**Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

"**I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, everything was covered in a thick layer dust, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty.**

"Sound like anywhere in particular, Remus?" said Ron with a grin on his face.

"The Shrieking Shack. Except it doesn't smell like seaweed in there." Remus replied, disappointing Ron as he had been wanting a more dramatic reaction.

"**There were only two rooms.**

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.**

"**Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket."**

"Why didn't you just... don't worry." said Hermione.

"**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now."**

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds . . . twenty . . . ten . . . nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him — three . . . two . . . one . . .**

**BOOM!**

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in."**

"That was the best birthday of my life!" said Harry, grinning.

"Doesn't sound that great." said James.

"What was the 'boom' about? What happened? Were you okay?" asked Lily frantically.

"Mum, why would I say it was the best birthday of my life if I had been hurt?" Harry said. It felt weird calling girl who was about his own age 'Mum'. Very weird.


	5. The Keeper Of Keys

**Im really sorry to all my readers that its taken me so long to update but all my stuff got deleted and so I had to start again. But on a happier note thanks to everyone that reviewed and did fav author and story and put this story and me on alerts you guys are the best.**

**Please read and review and please stop commenting on my spelling**

**Love Rachel Weasley 99**

"so who wants to read next" Charlie asked

"I will" Bill said as his brother passed him the boom

He read the title and smirked

"I think we're gonna like this chapter"

"Why" Ginny asked

"The chapters called** The Keeper of Keys"**

"Yes" James cried

"**BOOM." **Bill Read

"**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. "Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"Isn't everything he says stupid?" Sirius asked

much to the amusement of the people in the room

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands — now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"He brought a gun" Lily said fuming "theres' two 11 year old there"

"**Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!" There was a pause. Then — SMASH! The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its**

**hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. **

"Now thats an entrance" James said smirking

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was al- most completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm out- side dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

"**Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey. . . ."**

"Good old Hagrid brakes down the door and asks for a cup of tea" Arthur said smiling

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. "Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger. Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was**

**crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon. "An' here's Harry!" said the giant. Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile. "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh**

**look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes." **

"Do you know how many times I've heard that after then?" Harry said laughing

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise. "I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!" "Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," **

"Yeah go Hagrid" yelled The Marauders "You tell him"

**said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Ver- non's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room. Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on. "Anyway Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with _Happy __Birthday Harry _written on it in green icing.**

"Thats nice of him but I don't think you should eat it especially if Hagrid made it" James said

"I know that now" Harry replied

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?" The giant chuckled.**

"**True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

"**What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

The room chuckled

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath. The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. **

"What don't he have in his pockets?" Lily asked

"A dragon egg" Harry suggested while Ron and Hermione burst out laughing but before anyone could ask why anything a bright purple light filled the room, and who appeared but none other that Draco Malfoy. Everyone just stared at him for a moment until Harry burst

"Oh come on can't I get a brake why did you have to come"

"Do you really think I want to be here?, I have much better things to do that be stuck in a room filled with Blood traitor and Mudbloods"

Everyone had their wands out in an instant fuming about what they had just heard.

"Say that again Malfoy and just see what happens" Ginny growled

"You don't to get beat up again do you Malfoy and now Fred and the rest of the Weasley can help me and George this time" Harry said as he watched the blood drain from Malfoy's face

"Wait when did you beat him up the first time?" James asked curious why his son had gotten into a fight.

"Last year" George answered "After a Quidittich match"

"What did he do" Sirius asked

"Do you want to tell them Malfoy or shall I" Harry asked him

All Malfoy did was look at Harry with pure loathing

"So after the match he starts bad mouthing Mr and Mrs Weasley and The Burrow" Harry explains as all the Weasley brothers and Ginny start cracking their knuckles all wishing they could punch him in the face for insulting their family "Im holding George back and the three chasers are holding Fred back and then he insults mum" all the Marauders' hands twitch towards their wand they were so angry, all they wanted was to jinx the little slime ball into hell

"Then I let go of George and he and I started to beat him up for what he said"

"So then" George took over "we were sent to Mcgonagall's office and then Umbitch came because apparently she was in charge of punishment and she" he took a calming breath "banned us from Quidittch"

James and Sirius yelled "WHAT"

Malfoy started laughing, everyone in the room sent him death glares while Ginny shot a bat-boogie hex that him full in the face and knocked him of his chair

"I knew I always liked you" Harry said as he kissed her

"Oi get a room" all the Weasley brothers yelled

Harry and Ginny pulled away and Ginny stuck her tongue out at her brother who all did the same back to her.

After the bat-boogie hex had worn off Malfoy sat back on the chair and looked at everyone

"So why are you here anyway" Charlie said very stiffly trying to calm down

"How am I supposed to know I got this note" Malfoy said while holding up a piece of paper

"from some people with the initials H.J.P, R.W.B, H.J.W and G.M.P I read it there was a purple light and I ended up here with you lot" He finished

"Do you know whats happened so far" Charlie asked

"Yeah it said it all in the note"

"Ok Bill keep going"

"**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

**The giant chuckled darkly. **

"**Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

"Damn straight" George said

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

"**Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**

"**Er — no," said Harry. Hagrid looked shocked. "Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"Don't apologize it's not your fault its theirs" James growled

"**_Sorry_?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who**

**shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

"**All what?" asked Harry.**

"Hagrids not gonna like that" Sirius laughed

"**ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!" He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole**

**hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall. "Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this**

**boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?" Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"I don't think thats what he talking about Harry" Fred said as if he was talking to a toddler

"I know that now" Harry pouted

"**I know _some _things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and**

**stuff."**

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About _our _world, I mean. _Your _world. _My _world. _Yer parents' world._"**

"**What world?" Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. "DURSLEY!" he boomed. Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something**

**that sounded like "Mimblewimble."**

"**Cowared" Ginny muttered  
>Hagrid stared wildly at Harry. "But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're <em>famous. <em>You're _famous._" "What? My my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?" "Yeh don' know . . . yeh don' know . . ." Hagrid ran his fingers**

**through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare. "Yeh don' know what yeh _are_?" he said finally. Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice. "Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

"Like he's gonna listen to you" George said

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him;**

"Or maybe a smarter man" Remus said

**when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

"**You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

"**Kept _what _from me?" said Harry eagerly. "STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror. "Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid.**

"Wooooo go Hargrid" all the Weasleys cheered

"**Harry — yer a wizard." **

"So thats how you found out Hagrid told you" Ron commented

"yup" Harry said

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

"**I'm a _what_?" gasped Harry.**

"**A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"Finally"

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish enve- lope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut- on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (_Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards _)**

**Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted**

**at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no**

**later than July 31. Yours sincerely,**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

_**Deputy Headmistress**_

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered,**

"**What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

"Oh come on you just found out your a wizard and you ask about awaiting your owl" surprisingly it was Malfoy who said this.

Harry blushed "It was the first thing that popped into my head"

"**Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl" **

"awww poor owl"

"**a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

**Dear Professor Dumbledore, Given Harry his letter. Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. Weather's horrible. Hope you're well. Hagrid"**

"Wow thats impressive I can barely read his writing right side up and you can read it upside down" Sirius said

"**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone."**

"Thats because it is" Hermione said

"Whats a telephone?" Ron asked

"It's pretty much like floo-calling but you can't see the person your talking to" Sirius answered much to the surprise of the room

"What? I take muggle studies"

"And you actually listen?" James asked

"I only took it to piss off my dear mother so whats the point of going if I don't listen" Sirius said as he gestured for Bill to keep going.

"**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

"**Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

"**He's not going," he said. Hagrid grunted. "I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said. "A what?" said Harry, interested.**

"**A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"**We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

The room growled

"**You _knew_?" said Harry. "You _knew _I'm a — a wizard?"**

"**Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "_Knew_! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that _school _— and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

"And they should especially Lily" James said putting an arm around her.

"**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years."**

"Oh she has" Lily muttered

"**Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as — _abnormal"_**

"Harrys not abnormal" Ginny exclaimed

"Yeah perfectly normal" George said

"Well as normal as you can be when your Harry Frekin Potter" Fred yelled the last part much to the annoyance of the room.

"**and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

"That was the worst possible way to find out" James said sadly

"**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

"**CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

"Don't say it" Ginny said angrily when Fred went to open his mouth

"**But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently. The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious. "I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

"**Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it. . . ."**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with with a person called but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —"**

"**Who?"**

"**Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

"It's just a name" Remus said

"**Why not?"**

"**Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went . . . bad.**

"Thats an understatement" Harry said

**As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was . . ."**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out. **

"**Could you write it down?" Harry suggested. "Nah — can't spell it. All right — _Voldemort._" Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches . . . terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

"**Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew.**

Lily and James beamed

**Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before . . . probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

"We'ed never go to the dark side" James said

"**Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em . . . maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —"**

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

"**Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find**

"Thanks Hagrid" Lily said softly

— **anyway . . .**

"**You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. **

James and Lily growled

**Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards**

**of the age — the McKinnons,**

Lily gasped

**the Bones, the Prewetts**

Molly was quietly crying onto Arthurs shoulder while he was stroking her hair

— **an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

Everyone in the room shuddered

"you actually remember that" Remus asked

Harry just nodded mutely staring at the floor

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

"**Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot . . ."**

"**Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

"**Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured**

"I swear to merlin you touch one hair on my sons hair and I will curse you into next year" Lily growled

James, Sirius and Remus all scooted away from her instead of trying to calm her down because to be honest they were all terrified of an angry lily **and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion**

"NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION" Sirius yelled

— **asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end —"**

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word . . ."**

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

"I don't think its possible that he flattered himself being the size of a whale" Harry said

"**That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor. Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them. "But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?" "Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you.**

Lily grabbed James' hand hard

**Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see . . . he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?**

"**Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

"**Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — _I _dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

The Hermione laughed"The boy who could produce a potronas at the thirteen not a wizard"

"Wow thats impressive" James said "What is it? can I see it?"

Harry nodded and stood up he cast the spell and a massive silver stag erupted out of his wand

James was stunned into silence, so he got up and cast his potronas so another silver stag was in the room then Lily stood up and cast hers. A beautiful silver doe came out of her wand and walked over to where the others were. For a moment everyone just stared at the family as they stared at each other Harry was the first to stop his and the others followed suit then Harry grabbed both his parents in a bone crushing hug and motioned for Bill to keep reading.

"**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once**

"more like five times" Ron muttered

"**defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

"**Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

"**Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it . . . every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry . . . chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach . . . dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back . . . and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

"**See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

"Understatement of the century" George said

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

"**Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —"**

"**If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort,**

"Yes but Harry is very unique" Ginny said tracing his scare with her finger making him bush and Fred to silently gag.

"**fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbledore"**

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"Oh he's gonna get it now" Sirius said jumping up and down like a kid on christmas

"**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— IN- SULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!"**

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

The Room burst out laughing

"Thats brilliant" James said wiping tears from his eyes

"**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

"**Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

The room laughed again

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

"**Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job —"**

"**Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

"**Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

"So true"

"**Why were you expelled?"**

The Marauders all leaned in"

"**It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly.**

And out again

"**Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

"**You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"Thats it" Bill said closing the book

"Can we eat now" Ron and Sirius whined at the same time

They blinked at each other while everyone else laughed

At that moment a feast appeared on the table and everyone dug in.


	6. Diagon Alley

_**Hey guys sorry for not updating in a while but I promise I will not abandon this story I will do all seven books even if it kills but still sorry just having a little break but my new plan is that every time I update I update a chapter for both of my stories sound good anyway back to the story.**_

Once everyone was fed Percy picked up the book looking around at everyone as though silently asking to read the next chapter they all nodded at him and he began.

"**DIAGON ALLEY" **he read as he felt the side of his mouth twitch into a smile

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight. "It was a dream," he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**

Everyone growled at the mention of the cupboard

"Such a pessimist" Fred said smirking at Harry

"Hey, I have good reason to be, my life was crap" Harry huffed

"**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.**

**_And there_'_s Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, _Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream."**

"Thats kinda sad that you think that something good happening to you is a dream" Remus said looking at Harry who shrugged.

"**Tap. Tap. Tap. "All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up." He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the win- dow, a newspaper held in its beak.**

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

"**Don't do that."**

"It wants to get payed Harry" James said

"I know that now" Harry replied

"**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.**

"**Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl —" "Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa. "What?" "He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing _but _pockets — bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags . . . finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

"**Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily. "Knuts?" "The little bronze ones." Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.**

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched."**

"Why did he make Harry pay if he was getting up anyway" Hermione asked

"Maybe he wanted Harry to start learning about the money" Lily answered not knowing if this was the answer or that Hagrid was just lazy.

"**Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."**

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

"**Um — Hagrid?" "Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots. "I haven't got any money" **

James just laughed at that

"No money? You are the sole heir for the Potter fortune and were one of the richest wizard families in England"

"Really?" Harry asked

"I'm serious" James said but quickly slapped a hand over his mouth realizing his mistake, while Remus groaned and Sirius smirked

"No James, I'm Sirius" Sirius laughed

"You Sirius for a joke to get old it needs to be funny first" Lily said while everyone howled with laughter and Sirius pouted.

"Ah so thats were Harry gets his sarcasm" Hermione pointed out once everyone had calmed down.

"**and you heard Uncle Vernon last night . . . he won't pay for me to go and learn magic." "Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?" **

"**But if their house was destroyed —" **

"Do you really think we would keep all of our money in our house?" James asked

"**They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer**

**us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold — an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."**

"**Wizards have _banks_?"**

"No we carry all our money in pockets Potter what did you expect?" Malfoy sneered

Harry just sent him a glare and motioned for Percy to continue

"**Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding. "_Goblins_?" "Yeah — so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it,"**

"Why do I get the feeling that Harry is gonna rob Gringotts one day" Hermione groaned

"Hey, I'm not that reckless" Harry huffed while his friends laughed

"Mate you jumped onto the back of a mountain troll in your first year, you still think your not that reckless?" Ron asked laughing

"Mountain Troll" Lily and James gulped

"**I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts.**

"Yeah its been really safe these last couple of years" Harry muttered while Ginny put a hand on his back to calm him down.

"**As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see.**

"**Got everythin'? Come on, then."**

**Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

"**How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for an- other boat.**

"**Flew," said Hagrid.**

"Flew" asked everyone looking at Harry

"Hey, I still don't know how he did it" he said

"**_Flew_?" "Yeah — but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic**

**now I've got yeh." They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

"Us to mate, us to" Ron said

"And I still can't imagine it and its been six years" Harry replied

"**Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

"**Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

"**Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**

"**Spells — enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the highsecurity vaults."**

"Is there" Charlie fumed turning to Bill who looked down right terrified

"I-I don't know" He stuttered, he knew how Charlie felt when it came to animal cruelty especially dragons and he did not want to get on his brothers bad side when he was angry.

Percy knew not to let his brother start a rant so he continued.

"**And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did man- age ter get yer hands on summat."**

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the _Daily Prophet. _Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life."**

"Hagrid won't mind sweetie " Lily said softly whilst the twins snickers

Harry blushed and mentally groaned he was never gonna hear the end of this one.

"**Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual,"**

"Ain't that the truth" Harry muttered while a sudden bright light filled the room and two men tumbled out

"Sirius" Harry yelled when the light faded running into the arms of the dark haired man that had just appeared

_**(quick au older sirius and remus will be written in italic) **_

"Wow kiddo" _Sirius_ laughed ruffling Harry's hair "you'd think I died or something"

"Padfoot, don't joke about dieing" _Remus Lupin_ said slapping his arm

"Hey Remus" Harry said hugging the other man

"Hey Harry, quick question, where are we?" _Remus _asked

"I don't really know"Harry said "We all just appeared with and then some books came and their about my seven years at Hogwarts, Weird right?"

"Oi Padfoot, Moony its you but you guys are old" James said laughing

_Remus _and _Sirius _whipped around they knew that voice anywhere

"JAMES" they both yelled in unison and launched themselves at him.

To say that James was overwhelmed was an understatement, he was being smothered by the older versions of his two best friends.

"James" said _Sirius _who now had tears in his eyes "I haven't seen you in fourteen years, I missed you so much, I never thought I'd see again, I'm so glad I'm here now"

_Remus_ who was now crying freely just nodded to the statement not able to speak

"And Lily" _Remus _said now able to speak, hugging her who also had tears in her eyes "I miss you I really do"

Sirius and Remus were just sitting there in shock they were seeing there future selves it was really trippy

Once _Sirius _had calmed down he took a step back to look at the people on either sides of James one was younger him and one was younger moony both of them just stared at him and older moony

"Well this is trippy" Both Sirius' said

"Your telling me" Said Both Remus'

"Ok, how do you guys do that?" asked Lily who had finally stopped the flow of tears.

All four of them looked at her and shrugged

"So Harry" _Sirius _said turning back to his godson "Why are we here again?"

"As I said we all just appeared here and so did those books" Harry said pointing to the stack of books and the one in Percy's hand

"What are they about?" _Remus _asked

"Sadly my life" Harry sighed

"Cool I've always wanted to know about your two first years at Hogwarts" _Sirius_ exclaimed

"Well we haven't even gotten to Hogwarts yet we're still reading about his home life which I think was very shitty but he" Ginny said pointing her thumb at Harry "didn't bother to tell us"

"Why? What was so bad about?" _Remus _asked Ginny

"They made him sleep" she took a deep breath to calm herself "In a cupboard"

"WHAT" They both screamed

"Harry please tell me its not true" _Sirius _begged

Harry didn't meet his godfathers eyes which gave him the answer he feared.

"Why didn't you tell us" _Remus_ asked

"It doesn't matter" Harry muttered the last part

"Doesn't matter" Ginny yelled "Harry of course it matters they had no right to to that to you" She finished her speech by kissing him

"Oh come on" Fred yelled over the cat calls coming from both Sirius'

When they finally broke apart _Sirius _spoke up "When did this happen?" he asked a blushing Harry

"After the Quidittch final" Ginny answered

"In front of the whole common room might I add" Ron said

"Wow, kissing your best friends little sister is one thing but in front of the whole common room thats really bold" _Sirius _said in awe while _Remus _just smiled

"Not that this very touching" Malfoy sneered "But can please get back to the story"

Everyone looked at him in surprise but Percy obliged

"**Hagrid muttered, turning the page."**

"Wait what have we missed do far" _Sirius _asked gesturing to him and _Remus_

"Well it started on his cousins birthday and they went to the zoo and Harry was talking to the snake" Hermione explained

"Wait what?" _Sirius_ asked "I didn't know you were a paselmouth Harry"

"Neither did I till my second year" Harry said looking down

_Sirius _noticed this and grabbed Harry's shoulder and shook it until he looked up "Harry, that doesn't change who you are, you are not a bad person just because you are a paselmouth" Harry nodded

"Go on" _Sirius _said looking at Hermione

"When Dudley, how did you put it Harry?, waddled over and pushed him over to look at the snake and Harry got angry and made the glass disappear and let the snake go" _Sirius _laughed

"And then he got his Hogwarts letter but the Dursleys took it from him" _Remus' _eyes narrowed

"So they kept sending him letters until his Uncle thought they could out run them and took them to a little island in the middle of the sea and then Hagrid showed up and gave Harry his letter" Hermione finished "Oh and he gave Harry's cousin a pigs tail" she giggled while _Sirius _and _Remus _laughed right out.

"And now this chapters called Diagon Alley so Hagrid and Harry are now on there way there"

"Ok" _Sirius _said "Go on" he motioned to Percy who continued

"**There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.**

"'**Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**

"**But what does a Ministry of Magic _do_?"**

"Nothing important" _Sirius _muttered

"**Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

"**Why?"**

"**_Why_? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

"Very subtle Hagrid" Lily laughed

"**Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are _dragons _at Gringotts?"**

"**Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

The Trio exchanged smirks that luckily went unnoticed by everyone

"**You'd _like _one?" "Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go." They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent."**

"What was that for anyway?" Ron asked

"I think, I saw fang lying on it one day" Harry answered and Ron nodded and understanding

"**Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches.**

**Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

"**Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."**

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY**

**Uniform:**

**First-year students will require:**

**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black) 2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear 3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) 4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

**Course books:**

**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

**_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk**

**_A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot **

**_Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling **

**_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch **

**_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore **

**_Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger**

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them **_**by Newt Scamander**

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection **_**by Quentin Trimble**

**Other equipment:**

**1 wand 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) **

**1 set glass or crystal phials **

**1 telescope **

**1 set brass scales**

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS"**

"Hate that rule" James muttered

Fred, George, Ron, Hermione and Harry exchanged smirks while Malfoy scowled at Harry.

"**Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud. "If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid. Harry had never been to London before."**

Everyones smiles faded

**Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

"**I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic,"**

"Cause they don't know any different" Hermione said

"**he said as they climbed a brokendown escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops. Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?"**

"Yes"-

"Yes"-

"And yes" the twins finished

"**Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?"**

"There not smart enough Harry" James told his son"

"**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

"Thats Hagrid for ya" Sirius said

"**This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it."**

"Thats because you are the only one that can see it Harry, there is a charm placed over it so Muggles can't enter for see" Hermione explained while Harry rolled his eyes. 

"**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside. For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?" "Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle."**

"I hate when he does that" Charlie said absentmindedly rubbing his shoulder

"**Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this — can this be — ?"**

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

"Well thats a first" Bill said

"**Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter . . . what an honor."**

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes. "Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.**

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"**Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

"**So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud." "Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter." "Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name,**

**Dedalus Diggle." "I've seen you before!"**

"Bet he loved that" Mr Weasley laughed

"**said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop." "He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. **

"**Did you hear that? He remembers me!"**

**Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

"**Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**

Harry, Ron and Hermione scowled

"**P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."**

"Well thats gonna get annoying" Remus said

"You bet" Ron said

"**What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**

"**D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

"**Must get on — lots ter buy Come on, Harry."**

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

"**Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

"**Is he always that nervous?" "Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience"**

"I don't think he was looking for something like that" Hermione muttered

"**They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?"**

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

"**Three up . . . two across . . ." he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."**

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

**The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

"**Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

Everyones smiles grew wider even Malfoy managed a smirk

But soon Lily and James' smiles faded they should be the one taking Harry to Diagon Alley for the first time

"**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

"**Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."**

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.**

"Thanks Harry Ron shuddered

"Anytime" Harry smiled 

"**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad."**

"Was that you mum" Ginny giggled

"I think so" Mrs Weasely smiled

"**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —"**

Harry smiled at remembering his old broom, he loved it but he loved his Firebolt more because it was a gift from Sirius

"Ooo a new broom, I wander what its like?, sounds cool" James said like an excited 3-year old** "There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon. . . .**

"**Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold,"**

"Gryffindor" James and Sirius yelled

"**was "Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry."**

"Wow Harry you really are short" Fred teased

"I wasn't that short was I?" Harry asked Ron

"You kinda were mate" Ron answered

So Harry did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out at both of them while everyone else in the room laughed.

"**He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

_**Enter, stranger, **_

_**But take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed, **_

_**For those who take, but do not earn, **_

_**Must pay most dearly in their turn. **_

_**So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours,**_

_**Thief, you have been warned,**_

_**beware Of finding more than treasure there."**_

"Creepy" James muttered

"**Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid. A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter. **

"**Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe." "You have his key, sir?" "Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblins book of numbers."**

"Bet he loved that" Ron laughed

"**The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

"**Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key. The goblin looked at it closely. "That seems to be in order." "An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You- Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

The Room groaned as one

"So that what got it started, I can't believe Hagrid said that in front of you" Hermione face palmed

Then Remus started "I your anything like these two" He said pointing his thumbs at Lily and James "You wont stop until you find out what it is"

"Look what you've done Hagrid saying that in front of the nosiest kid in the school

"I'm not the nosiest kid in school" Harry Huffed

"OK lets recap. 1st year Philosophers stone, 2nd Chamber, 3rd year Sirius, 4th and 5th year you've been alright and now 6th year with this Malfoy thing. Just admit it your the nosiest kid in school" Hermione finished while the room laughed at Harry

He just huffed and crossed his arms chest

When everyone calmed down Percy took it as a good time to keep reading.

"**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

"**Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

"**What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked."**

"See" Hermione and Ron said

"**Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off.**

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible."**

"Thats still pretty good Harry, a lot of people can remember half that" Charlie said surprised** "The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon,"**

Charlie's mood changes as he growled and Bill scooted away from him

"**but too late — they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

"**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

Hermione opened her mouth but Ron put his hand over it

"I'm sure the book will explain" He said while she glared at him

"**Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it,"**

Hermione huffed 

"**said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts."**

Most occupants of the room whistled in awe

"**All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's — it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking."**

The room growled

"**How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London. Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

"**The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

"**One speed only," said Griphook.**

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom,"**

"Do you have a death wish" _Sirius_ groaned

"Some times we all think the thing" Ron said while Harry glared at him

"I do not have a death wish" Harry huffed

"Sure you don't" Hermione said so Harry stuck his tongue out at her while Percy kept reading.

"**but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

"**Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

"**If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

"**How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

"**About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin."**

"What a lovely Goblin" Lily said

"**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least — but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask."**

Ron and Hermione shot him questioning looks

"Oh shut up" Harry said

"**Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, its best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

"**Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts."**

"He left you all alone on your first time in Diagon Alley thats really irresponsible" Lily fretted

"What if you got lost or-" James popped a hand over her mouth and motioned for Percy to continue 

"**He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve."**

"I've always liked her" Sirius said

"**Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

Malfoy's eyes widened

"**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes."**

Every eye in the room swiveled to Malfoy but no one made a comment

"**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

"**Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?" "Yes," said Harry. "My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy."**

"Whats the point doesn't the wand choose the wizard?" Ginny asked

"So thats why you were never good at spell work your mum got your wand for you" Ron asked with a smirk on his face 

Malfoy just glared him so Percy continued

"**He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley. "Have _you _got your own broom?" the boy went on. "No," said Harry. "Play Quidditch at all?" "No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch"**

"You do play Quidditch now right? Your on the team right?" James asked a little worried

Before Harry answered he sent a wink to the Weasleys, _Sirius_ and _Remus_.

"Nah to be completely honest I think its boring actually, I mean like when the games are on at school everyones excited but its just a game" He said while Him, The Weasleys, _Sirius _and _Remus _tried to keep a straight face.

James looked like he was going to cry, his only son didn't play Quidditch, What was the world coming to?

"**could be. "**_**I **_**do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for**

**my House, and I must say, I agree. Know what House you'll be in yet?"**

"**No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

"**Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

"**Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

"**I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

"**That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."**

"**Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"**He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**

"**Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of _savage _— lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

"**I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

"**_Do _you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

"**They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

"**Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all."**

"Little Brat" Lily muttered

"**But they were _our _kind, weren't they?"**

"**They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

"**I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"**

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool."**

"What would you have done if I told you my name?" Harry asked Malfoy

All he did is glare at Harry and his cheeks went a slight pink

"**Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts)."**

Ron's stomach growled

"Ron, we just had lunch" Hermione said with a hint of amusement

"Hermione you should now by now that Ron has the stomach of a disposal unit" Ginny laughed

"Padfoot's the same" said James "you should see him at the Halloween feast all he can do it eat, barely comes up for air"

Once everyone had stopped laughing the story went on

"**What's up?" said Hagrid.**

"**Nothing," Harry lied."**

"And it begins" Ron said rolling his eyes

"What?"Harry asked

"Honestly Harry, you always say your fine or nothings wrong but you need to know your a terrible liar" Hermione explained

"I am not" Harry pouted

"yes you are" Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, _Sirius_ and _Remus_ said together 

"**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

"**Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

"**Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

"— **and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —"**

"**Yer not _from _a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh _were _— he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum!"**

"Look at Hermione" Ginny said while everyone nodded their heads in agreement while Hermione blushed like a Weasley

"**Look what she had fer a sister!"**

"**So what _is _Quidditch?"**

"**It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

"No its not" James scoffed

"**And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

"**School Houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —"**

"**I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.**

"**Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

"**Vol-, sorry — You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" "Years an' years ago," said Hagrid. They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and**

**Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from _Curses and Counter- curses _(_Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More_) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

"**I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

Everyone laughed

"**I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list")"**

"I tried to do that but mum wouldn't let me"James said pouting

"I wonder why" Lily smirked

"**but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up**

**for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages."**

The Weasleys all wrinkled their noses

"**Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.**

"**Just yer wand left — oh yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

**Harry felt himself go red. "You don't have to —" "I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago"**

The Trio and Ginny smirked wondering what Neville would say if he heard that

"Obviosly Longbottom didn't get the message" Malfoy sneered

"Shut up Malfoy" Ron snapped

"**yeh'd be laughed at — an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing."**

"So thats how you got Hedwig? I've always loved her, shes so beautiful" Ginny sighed

"Yeah she is" Harry agreed

"**He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell."**

"Well thats a bad comparison" Ron snorted

"**Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

**A magic wand . . . this was what Harry had been really looking forward to."**

"Thats what a lot of muggles look forward to the most, I know that what I was looking forward to" Hermione said

"**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window."**

"Apparently thats superposed to be Merlin's Wand I remember reading it somewhere" Lily said

"**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic."**

"You could feel that?" _Remus _asked impressed

"Yeah, can't everybody?" Harry asked confused

"No, If someone can feel the magic around them it means they have a very strong magical core, at your age that is very impressive" Mr Weasley explained

"**Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

"**Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

"**Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

Lily got out her wand and looked at it "How does he remember that, it must have been ages ago when you bought your wand"

"He remembers every wand he ever made" Harry quoted

"**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

"**Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration."**

"Wow" James said as he also got out his wand

"**Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes."**

"Creepy" Ron said

"**And that's where . . ."**

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger."**

"Did he have to do that" _Sirius_ said

"**I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands . . . well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do. . . ."**

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

"**Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again. . . . Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

"**It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

"**Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

"**Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

"**But you don't _use _them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

"**Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke."**

"Yeah, not suspicious at all" Fred snickered

"**Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

"**Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

"**Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head."**

"I've always wondered why he did around the head" Sirius said in an amused tone

"**As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils,"**

Fred and George snickered

"**was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

"**That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring."**

"Thats my core" Hermione said smiling

"**Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."**

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

"**Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —"**

**Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

"**No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair"**

"Thats my core" Ron said smiling also

"**eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become."**

"He loves a tricky customer, and by the way how many wands did you try?" James asked

"I stopped counting after 15" Harry said

"**Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers."**

"Thats the one" Charlie said 

"**He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework,"**

"Defiantly a true Gryffindor" James and Sirius said together

Harry was suddenly worried what would happen when they found out that he was nearly in Slytherin.

"**throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well . . . how curious . . . how very curious . . ."**

"Whats curious?"The room except Harry asked

"**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious . . . curious . . ."**

"**Sorry," said Harry, "but _what's _curious?"**

Everyone laughed

"**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."**

The Room gasped as one

"I didn't know that, did you?" Ron whispered to Hermione

"No I didn't, I wonder why he didn't tell us?" Hermione said

Harry was looking down at his feet and _Sirius_ noticed and figured what he was thinking so he went over to him

"Harry" he knelt down "This does not change one thing about you, it doesn't matter that you have twin wands with Voldemort (flinch) you are still one of the most compassionate, caring people I have ever met and it does not change anyones opinion of you" _Sirius _finished

Harry hugged and mumbled "Thanks Sirius" into his chest

After _Sirius_ had gone back to his seat Percy continued

"**Harry swallowed.**

"**Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember. . . . I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. . . . After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."**

"Is he praising Voldemort" Sirius asked

"No I think its just the magic he's praising, not what he did" Remus explained

"**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

"**Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

"**You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life — and yet — he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

"**Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander . . . but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died."**

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

"**Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smat- **

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**

"**Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me. . . . See yeh soon, Harry."**

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"He didn't tell you how to get onto the platform" Lily groaned

"Don't worry" Harry smirked looking at the Weasleys "I got on alright"

"So who wants to read next?" Percy asked

"Gimme Gimme" Fred yelled "The next Chapter is called **"Journey from Platform 9 ¾" **Sound good"

_**Sorry guys about putting Remus and Sirius I wanted them in there and I couldn't help myself dw I won't add anyone else in till 2nd book hope you enjoyed the chapter.**_

_**Ok I know you guys have every reason to hate me and stop reading this story cause I took for ever to update but I will try my hardest to never take that long again :) **_

_**till next time :)**_

_**Rachel Weasley 99**_


	7. Journey From Platform 9 34

_**ATTENTION: I am looking for a Beta for my stories if any of you are interested just pm me and i'll respond.**_

_**Hey guys just a quick thanks to:**_

_**xxBlacksxxDaughterxx**__**, **__**TheJulesTee**__**, **__**Berna45**__**, **__**WitchMidnight**__**, **__**Fawn Hale**__**, **__**Latina shewolf**__**, **__**Heart of the Phoenix**__**, **__**Roxie i do byte**__**, **__**Phoenix667**__**, **__**Deacon Sullivan**__**, **__**LadyElena17**__**, **__**Fury074**__** for all the reviews and favorites and putting it and me on alert thank you so much.**_

_**And now on with the story**_

_**Last time on U E B 1(Unexpected Events Book 1)**_

"_Gimme Gimme" Fred yelled "The next Chapter is called **"Journey from Platform 9 ¾" **Sound good"_

"**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun." **

"Was is ever?" Ron asked

Harry just shrugged

"**True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him — in fact, they didn't speak to him at all."**

"That would get lonely" Lily said she knew what it was like to get ignored by her family not that her parents did it but Petunia did it enough.

James pulled Lily closer to him to comfort her.

"**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while."**

Lily smiled sadly

"**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in _A History of Magic."_**

"Traitor" Ron, Fred, George, Both Sirius' and James yelled at him

Hermione beamed at him while Lily and Both Remus' rolled their eyes ****

"**His school books were very interesting. He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice."**

"Wonder what her reaction would be?" James wondered with a smirk on his face

"No!" Lily said

"Awww Lily you ruin all my fun" James pouted

"**Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first."**

"I used to do that too" Lily, Both Sirius' and Hermione said together

"**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room."**

Sirius chuckled

"Stupid Muggle" Malfoy said and everybody jump almost forgetting he was there.

"**Er — Uncle Vernon?" Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening. "Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts." Uncle Vernon grunted again. "Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?" Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes."**

"Harry I didn't know you spoke Troll" Ron said

"Probably just practicing" Hermione laughed

Everybody who didn't know what happened on Halloween sent the Trio questioning looks but brushed it off. 

"**Thank you." He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually**

**spoke. "Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"**

"No there just illegal" Remus said 

"**Harry didn't say anything. "Where is this school, anyway?"**

"Scotland!" said the Weaselys even Percy even though he muttered it.

"**I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket. "I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read. His aunt and uncle stared. "Platform what?"**

"Petunia should know she dropped me off plenty of times" Lily said angry at her sister

"**Nine and three-quarters." "Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."**

"Yes there is" The room said

"**Its on my ticket."**

"**Barking,"**

"Rude" Said Both Sirius'

"**said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad"**

"Offensive" Both Remus' said while everybody laughed at them

"**the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."**

"**Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly."**

"Why bother" Fred asked interrupting himself

"Because he's Harry" George answered his brother

"**Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

"Why thought it would be a great conversation starter" James said

"**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning"**

"Someones eager" Charlie laughed

"You can't talk, you did the same thing but woke me up as well" Bill said while Charlie blushed

"**and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes" **

"Good Idea" _Remus_ said

"**he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.**

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him."**

Everyones eyes narrowed this was to nice for him, what was he up to?

"**Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**

"**Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

"**Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word."**

"Bastards" James and Sirius muttered

"I can't believe they left you there alone, well maybe I can but still how are you going to find the platform?" Lily fretted

"I find out just fine mum" Harry said smirking at the Weasleys 

"**Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone. He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters."**

"Good idea" Sirius said

"**The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one."**

"Lucky there wasn't one" Ron said

"I know I would have gotten on that one and that would have been very bad" Harry said

"**In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.**

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten."**

"No!" Lily, James, both Sirius' and Both Remus' said

"**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"— **packed with Muggles, of course —" Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair."**

"Its Us" The Twins yelled

"**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an _owl."_**

"Really Potter you follow them cause they have an owl" Malfoy sneered

"Well of course I did, in the muggle world owls don't come out during the day" Harry glared back.

Malfoy shut his mouth and his cheeks turned a slight pink

"**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying."**

"Eavesdropping Harry, Tut, tut" George smirked

Harry just rolled his eyes

"**Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother."**

Everyone turned a questioning eye towards Molly who blushed

"I always get flustered when we're late, which is always most of the time" She said casting and eye at her boys.

"**Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go . . ."**

Ginny blushed and ducked her head to hid it.

"**You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."**

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished."**

James and Sirius laughed "Bad Luck"

"**Fred, you next," the plump woman said.**

"**I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you _tell _I'm George?"**

"**Sorry, George, dear."**

"**Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy,"**

The Weasleys groaned while the people from the past laughed.

"Thats pretty good" Sirius said

These words looked like they made The Twins day. A Marauder, a real one complimented one of their jokes.

"**and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it?**

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier — he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. There was nothing else for it. "Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman. "Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose."**

The Twins laughed while Ginny and Hermione giggled

"Thanks Harry" Ron mock glared at him "But I just can't wait to hear Hermione description" That shut Hermione up but made everyone laugh harder.

"**Yes," said Harry. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to —"**

"**How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.**

"**Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."**

"**Er — okay," said Harry.**

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid."**

"It is" Ron said while Harry nodded

"**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash —**

**It didn't come . . . he kept on running . . . he opened his eyes.**

**A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words _Platform Nine and __Three-Quarters _on it. He had done it"**

"You did it" The twins yelled

Harry sent them a look that just screamed 'Well der'.

"**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.**

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."**

"Neville" Ginny smiled

"**Oh, _Neville,_" he heard the old woman sigh. A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd."**

"Lee" The twins shouted

"**Give us a look, Lee, go on." The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people**

**around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg."**

Ron shuddered

"**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot."**

The room winced even Malfoy because all of them have done that at least once

"**Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier."**

"Oh My Godric their being helpful" Ginny gasped

"Its been known to happen" They said in unison

"**Yes, please," Harry panted. "Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!" With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment. "Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.**

"**What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar."**

"Sorry" They said again in unison

"Its ok" Harry said

"**Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you — ?" "He _is,_" said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry. "What?" said Harry. "_Harry Potter,_" chorused the twins. "Oh, him," said Harry."**

"Oh Him, really Harry" _Sirius _said 

Harry just pocked his tongue out at him which he did in return

"Oh real mature Padfoot, your supposed to be the adult here" _Remus _said

"Thats what your here for Moony" he said in reply.

"**I mean, yes, I am." The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning**

**red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.**

"**Fred? George? Are you there?" "Coming, Mom." With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he**

**could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.**

"And again Harry, we're so proud" James and Sirius said together

Lily waked James on the arm "Ow" he said "What was that for?"

"Your not supposed to encourage him"Lily said rolling her eyes 

"**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.**

"**Ron, you've got something on your nose."**

Ron turned red

"**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.**

"**_Mom _— geroff." He wriggled free.**

"**Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.**

"**Shut up," said Ron. "Where's Percy?" said their mother. "He's coming now." The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny red and gold badge on his chest with the letter _P _on it."**

"Ah Prefect" James and Sirius said

"Whats wrong with that?" Lily and Remus said raising their eyebrow.

"N-Nothing" They stuttered

"**Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —"**

"**Oh, are you a _prefect, _Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."**

"**Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. **

"**Once —"**

"**Or twice —"**

"**A minute —" **

"**All summer —"**

The Marauders laughed

"**Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. "How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. "Because he's a _prefect,_" said their mother fondly. "All right, dear,**

**well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there." She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. "Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"**

Lily groaned "Molly you never give a prankster an idea trust me I tell you this from experience"

"Too right you are" Molly said fondly

"**Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." "Great idea though, thanks, Mom."**

"See" Lily said

"**It's _not funny. _And look after Ron."**

"**Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."**

"**Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it."**

"You just had to notice that didn't you Harry" Ron said to Harry who nodded

"**Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.**

"**You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"**

"**Who?" "_Harry Potter_!" Harry heard the little girl's voice. "Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, oh please. . . ." **

Ginny turned red and put her head in her hands as Harry put an arm around her

"Don't worry, I thought it was cute" He said kissing her check as all the women in the room 'awed' and Ron and the Twins mimed vomiting behind there backs.

"Oh stop" Hermione said hitting their arms

"So thats where it all began" _Sirius _said

"Be nice" _Remus _said waking him on the arm "I haven't seen Harry this happy in ages" he finished smiling over at Harry who had his arm around Ginny.

"**You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo."**

"I think people at school need to learn that" Hermione said

"**Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" "Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning." "Poor _dear _— no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." "Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"**

Lily's smile faded "No!" she glared at he twins who backed down immediately under her glare. They better not have asked her baby about that.

"Its ok, They didn't" Harry said as his eyes wondered to Ron who's ears had turned red 

"**Their mother suddenly became very stern. "I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."**

"Thank you Molly" Lily and James said

"Think nothing of it"  
><strong> "All right, keep your hair on." A whistle sounded. "Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry."<strong>

"Harry!" Ginny groaned

"Wow Harry, who knew you could make her do that this early in the relationship" _Sirius _said waggling his eyebrows

Lily clapped her hands over her mouth, James and Sirius were laughing, Remus ran a hand through his hair in a very James like fashion, Harry's and Ginny's eyes went wide and blushed that would put any Weasley to shame

"Sirius!"_Remus _yelled "I can't believe you said that on front of her whole family"he whispered the next part "and that includes her 6 older very overprotective brothers" emphasizing his point.

Fred cleared his throat, face still red from that last comment and continued reading

"**Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." "We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat." "_George_!" "Only joking, Mom."**

"I never got that by the way" Ginny said

"We found someone who needed it more" George said while Harry smiled to himself

"**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.**

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind."**

"Anythings better than that place" Hermione said with a slight edge to her voice

"**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy came in.**

"**Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."**

"Sure it was" Charlie said as Ron's ears turned red

"**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose."**

"And you didn't tell me?" Ron asked Harry's reply was just shrugging

"**Hey, Ron." The twins were back. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." "Right," mumbled Ron. "Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."**

"**Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**

"**Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out."**

"Real subtle Ron" Hermione said as she rolled her eyes.

"**Harry nodded. "Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's**

**jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know . . ." He pointed at Harry's forehead. Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared."**

"Sorry mate" Ron said looking down

"Thats ok, everyone does it at first" Harry said

"**So that's where You-Know-Who — ?" "Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." "Nothing?" said Ron eagerly."**

"Didn't I tell you not to ask?" Molly said

"Well technically you told fred and George" Ron said bravely

Molly raised an eyebrow at him and he kept quiet

"**Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." "Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.**

"**Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him."**

"Really" Ron asked surprised

"Of course, you guys are awesome" Harry said

Cue Weasley blush

"**Er — yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"Why?" Lily asked

"He, er, doesn't like magic so he tends to stay away from us" said Arthur looking down

"Oh" Lily said

"**So you must know loads of magic already."**

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about."**

Malfoy snorted "Hardly"

He was ignored while Fred and George went on "Harry, you wound us" Fred said

"You compared us to _Malfoy _of all people" George continued

"How could you" They said in unison while everyone laughed at them

"**I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"**

"**Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."**

"**Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first."**

All of Ron's siblings exchanged looks "Do you really feel like that?" Bill asked worriedly

"No, At least not anymore" Ron said looking down

"Because Ron" Charlie began "We all have things that we're good at, I mean your amazing a Chess you've been able to beat me since you were seven and I haven't seen you lose a game since"

"Yeah but Chess isn't important" Ron said

"Harry waked Ron on the arm "Of course it is, don't remember end of first year? Imagine what would have happened if I went alone I would have been stuck there. You won us that game and got us through."

Ron now had a small smile on his lips and motioned for Fred to continue 

"**You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."**

Harry, Ron, _Sirius _and _Remus_ all growled at the mention of the filthy rat

"**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.**

"**His name's Scabbers and he's useless,"**

"Got that right" _Remus_ muttered darkly

"**he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff— I mean, I got Scabbers instead."**

**Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.**

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**

"**. . . and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —"**

**Ron gasped. "What?" said Harry. "_You said You-Know-Who's name_!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed."**

"Fear the name-" Harry started

"Only Increases fear of the thing itself, yeah we know, we know" Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Fred and George said together

Harry glared at them but they didn't take it seriously when they saw the small smile playing at his lips

"**I'd have thought you, of all people —" "I'm not trying to be _brave _or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn. . . . I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."**

"Wrong" Ron said

"**You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough." **

"Hermione" Ron coughed

"**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.**

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"**

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.**

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry"**

"Huh?" Fred asked

"Its a Muggle chocolate bar"_Remus_ explained

"And you would no all about that wouldn't you" _Sirius_ muttered

Of course with his sensitive werewolf hearing he heard and slammed a pillow in _Sirius'_ face ** "but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.**

"Thats a lot to pay for sweets" Lily said "You better have shared"

"Don't worry he did" Ron said before Harry could open his mouth

"**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**

"**Hungry, are you?"**

"**Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."**

"But I thought that was your favorite" Molly said

"No Mum its mine" Charlie said

"Oh" Molly said sadly

"**Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —"**

"**You don't want this, its all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." "Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with."**

_'Never had anything to share, and the first thing he gets to himself and he shares it straight away' Remus _thought to himself _'Its remarkable he turned out like he did'_

"**It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten)."**

"So thats how you two became friends? over sweets" Sirius asked amused

"**What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not _really _frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.**

"**No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."**

"Still am" He muttered

"**What?" "Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have**

**cards inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore."**

"Thats a good one to get on your first" James said

"Definitely" Remus said

"**So _this _is Dumbledore!" said Harry.**

"**Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —"**

**Harry turned over his card and read: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

**currently headmaster of Hogwarts**

**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel."**

Harry, Ron and Hermione mentally slapped themselves

"All that studying for nothing, and it was on the back of a bloody chocolate frog card" Ron whispered to Harry who snickered. **  
>"Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.<strong>

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.**

"**He's gone!"**

"**Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her . . . do you want it? You can start collecting."**

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.**

"**Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."**

"**Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "_Weird _!"**

"Channeling Dad a bit there, ay Ron" Bill chuckled

"**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcraft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin."**

"Good Start" Sirius said nodding his head 

"**He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

"**You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they _mean _every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."**

"Did you really" Sirius and James asked

"yeah" George shuddered "Worst flavor ever"

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.**

"**Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts."**

**They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper."**

"Thats not a bad selection, It could have been worse" Lily said

"**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.**

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three- quarters came in. He looked tearful.**

"**Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"**

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"**

"**He'll turn up," said Harry."**

"That was nice of you" Remus said

"**Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him . . ." He left. "Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."**

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

"**He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look . . ." He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.**

"**Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —"**

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.**

"**Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth."**

Ron and the Twins started to snicker while Hermione reached around Ginny to smack Harry upside the head  
>"Thanks a lot Harry" She said and sent a glare to the three Weasley boys who stop immediately<p>

"Whipped" Ginny whispered in Harrys ear so he had to bit his fist to stop from laughing

"**We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.**

"**Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. "Er — all right." He cleared his throat.**

"**_Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow._"**

Fred and George burst out laughing

"I knew you would fall for that" George gasped through his laughter

"**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.**

"**Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased,"**

Fred who was reading took a deep breath and looked at Hermione in amazement 

"**of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"**

**She said all this very fast."**

"Crap Hermione how did you say all that in one breath?" Charlie asked

Hermione's face tinged pink and she shrugged

"**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.**

"**I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. "Harry Potter," said Harry. "Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History _and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century._"**

"**Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.**

"**Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best;"**

"Thats because it it" Sirius yelledwhile Remus rolled his eyes at him

"**I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. . . . Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."**

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.**

"**Whatever House I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron."**

"Ron" Molly said surprised

Hermione looked down she knew that they were mot great friends at the beginning but that hurt that Ron said that about Her.

"Hermione I'm really sorry I ever said that. I was a stupid eleven year old kid who was jealous of your brains. Will you ever forgive me?" Ron said

Hermione was still hurt but let a small smile grace her lips as she looked at Ron's pleading face 'Oh' she thought 'that face could make her do anything'

'Just kiss her already Ron' George thought. Ron liked Hermione and she liked him back it was obvious, well to everyone except themselves.

"**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."**

"Yep" He said popping the 'p'

"**What House are your brothers in?" asked Harry.**

"**Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw _would _be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."**

"**That's the House Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"**

"**Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.**

"**You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry,"**

"Thanks Harry" Ron smiled 

"**trying to take Ron's mind off Houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"**

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.**

"**Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron."**

"Something for Gringotts, really Ron?" Bill said amused

"**Did you hear about Gringotts? Its been all over the _Daily Prophet, _but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault."**

**Harry stared. "Really? What happened to them?" "Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught."**

"And we thought that was impossible" Remus said while James, Lily and Sirius nodded in agreement 

"**My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.**

"**What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked. "Er — I don't know any,"**

James winced 

"**Harry confessed. "What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players,**

"Longest half hour of my life" Harry groaned still keeping up his act

"**describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.**

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: It was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop.**

"Of course it was" _Sirius_ muttered

"You know" Harry thought "Malfoy, you always end up at our Carriage at one point in the trip. Do you have a check list or some thing for the train? Number One-Slick back hair, Number Two-Annoy Potter, Number Three-Boss around Crabbe and Goyle." He finished smirking at Malfoy who was glaring full blast at him while all of Harry's fellow Gryffindors were holding their sides from laughing so hard.

Once Fred had contained his laughter his continued reading his Chapter 

"**He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**

"**Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"**

"No its the kid with red hair" Sirius said sarcastically

"**Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.**

" Thats because they are" Ginny said

"**Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my names Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."**

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**

"**Think my name's funny, do you?"**

"Yes" Ron said to Malfoy who scowled at him and muttered something that sounded like 'Blood Traitor'

"**No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."**

Now it was the Weasley's turn to scowl as each one was directed at Malfoy

"**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."**

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly."**

"Ooo want some ice for that burn Malfoy?" Fred said smirking at him while the rest of the room snickered

"I'm so proud, My boys first insult to a Snake" James said whipping away a fake tear

Lily just rolled her eyes

"**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.**

"**I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents."**

"Little shit" _Sirius_ boomed "I can't believe you, even you said that to him"

Everyone was glaring so darkly right now that he was lucky that looks couldn't kill

Fred continued with a slight edge in his voice

"**They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."**

**Both Harry and Ron stood up. "Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair. "Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered. "Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. "But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron**

**leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.**

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle"**

"Only useful thing he probably ever done" _Sirius_ spat

"**Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window,"**

"Hope it hurt" Ron said under his breath

"**all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.**

"**What _has _been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.**

"**I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep."**

"Remind you of anyone boys?" James laughed looking at Sirius and Remus who laughed along with him

_Sirius'_ and _Remus'_ scowls got darker at the joke passed between the friends

"**And so he had. "You've met Malfoy before?" Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. "I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of**

**the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."**

"True" Sirius coughed

"Shut it Blood Traitor" Malfoy spat at him

"And bloody proud of it. Rather be that, than a person who follows a sadistic psycho-path" He returned.

"**He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"**

"**You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**

"**Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"**

"**All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.**

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them."**

Ron's ears turned red

"**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."**

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets"**

"Can't leave those behind now can we?" Charlie said

"**and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.**

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"**

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.**

"**C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"**

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.**

"**Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."**

**There was a loud "Oooooh!"**

"Its great the first time you see it" Bill reminisced

"**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**

"**No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"**

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.**

"**Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff;"**

Remus glared at Sirius and James while they snickered

"Of course you two didn't duck" Lily said rolling her eyes

"Yes and they pulled me in with them" Remus said 

"**they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.**

"**Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**

"**Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.**

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.**

"**Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"**

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door."**

"Thats it" Fred said putting the book down

"My turn" George exclaimed grabbing it and turning to the right page "The next Chapter is called **"The Sorting Hat" **

_**Hey guys just a quick AN-with each story i'm writing I will alternate between stories so this chapter will go up and the next thing I will post will be Bloody Hell Time Travel and p.s Reviews are always welcome :]**_

_**Thanks Rachel Weasley 99 **_


	8. The Sorting Hat

**Hey faithful Reader quick shout out to ****UEAcon, DawnJinx, Xavier Wolff, 26045201998, Harryandginnylover28, dtndT-90, Trinity Fenton-Phantom, The Multi-Animagus, kellkell96, Stina58, ****x-men4eva**** and infoseek**** for favouriting, alerting and reviewing. **

_**Last Time on U E B 1**_

"_My turn" George exclaimed grabbing it and turning to the right page "The next Chapter is called **"The Sorting Hat" **_

"**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross."**

"She's not" Fred, George, _Sirius, _Sirius and James said as one

"yet you do it all the time" Lily said

"Ah dear Lily-Flower thats the fun of it all"Sirius said

"**The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you**

**could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors."**

"It really is amazing isn't it" Hermione said with a fond smile on her face

"**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.**

"**Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts."**

"A very true statement" Remus said looking at his friends

"Literally for us" Charlie said

"But for us you guys are like Hermione and I's family" Harry said looking at the Weasleys

Ron rolled his eyes "Harry were not like your family, we are you family"

James and Lily smiled glad that Harry had such great friends.

"**You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room."**

"Or sneaking around the castle as you three usually like to do" Lily said looking fondly at The Marauders

"Well of course" James said

"**The four Houses are called Gryffindor,"**

"Whoop" Sirius, James and Remus chanted

"**Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rulebreaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."**

"I think that was the same speech she gave me at my sorting" Molly said

"And us" Lily said

"And me" Charlie said nodding his head.

"**The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."**

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear,"**

"How did he end up doing that" Ginny asked

Harry shrugged in return

"**and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair."**

"Well thats not gonna work is it" _Remus _asked

Harry and James both ran a hand through their unruly hair.

"**I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."**

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed. "How exactly do they sort us into Houses?" he asked Ron.**

"**Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet — what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need."**

"How did you already know spells" James asked

Hermione blushed "I read a lot" 

"**Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teachers wig blue."**

"Wicked" Fred said

"**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom."**

"Bit dramatic aren't we Harry?" _Sirius_ chuckled

"**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed."**

"Why what happened" Arthur asked

"**What the — ?"**

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall."**

"Ah" Arthur nodded in recognition

"**Pearly-white and slightly transparent,"**

"Imprint of a departed soul" Ron whispered to Harry who snickered 

"**they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"**

"Ah Peeves, they've been having that argument since I was at school" Bill said

"**My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"**

"Tango dancing" _Sirius _said sarcastically

"**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. Nobody answered.**

"**New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"**

**A few people nodded mutely.**

"**Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you know."**

"**Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."**

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.**

"**Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."**

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair,"**

"Seamus?" Ron questioned

"I think it was" Harry said 

"**with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.**

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History._"**

"Of course you did" Charlie said smiling at his little brothers friend

"**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.**

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house."**

The Twins, Harry, Ron, _Sirius,_ _Remus _and the Marauders all got a michevious glint in their eyes and exchanged looks, but before anyone of them could say anything Lily and Molly spoke

"No"

All pranksters put on their best pouts but they just shook their heads.

"_**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it,"**_

"Why on earth would we have to do that Potter?" Malfoy sneered

"It's a muggle trick Malfoy, not that you would no anything about that" Harry said calmly**_ "_Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing — noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:"**

"Oh no, Are you going to sing George?" Ginny asked wearily

"Why of course" George replied

"I suggest you cover your ears" she directed this at the Marauders

"Oi" George called but shrugged and started

"**_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, _**

_**But don't judge on what you see, **_

_**I'll eat myself if you can find A smarter hat than me.**_

_**You can keep your bowlers black, **_

_**Your top hats sleek and tall, **_

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat And I can cap them all.**_

_**There's nothing hidden in your head **_

_**The Sorting Hat can't see,**_

_**So try me on and I will tell you **_

_**Where you ought to be.**_

_**You might belong in Gryffindor, **_

_**Where dwell the brave at heart, **_

_**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;**_

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **_

_**Where they are just and loyal, **_

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil;**_

_**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,**_

_**If you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, **_

_**Will always find their kind;**_

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin **_

_**You'll make your real friends, **_

_**Those cunning folk use any means To achieve their ends. **_

**_So put me on! Don't be afraid_! **

**_And don't get in a flap_! _You're in safe hands _**

_**(though I have none) **_

**_For I'm a Thinking Cap_!"**

"Well that was a lot happier than the ones we got" Sirius said

"Of course it is Padfoot, we're in the middle of a War, They're not" Remus said

"Not yet anyway" Harry muttered so no one but Ginny could hear him.

"**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. "So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry.**

"**I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." Harry smiled weakly."**

Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's eyes widened and looked at each

"I don't even remember you saying that" Harry whispered surprised to Ron "Are you sure your not a seer?"

Ron gave him a look of disgust

"Yeah cause first years1 would really survive a fight with a troll" _Sirius _said sarcastically

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks again but this time with a smirk on their faces ** "Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a House for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him."**

"That would be the house for everyone at the moment" Arthur chuckled

"**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.**

"**When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"**

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause —**

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.**

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.**

"**Bones, Susan!"**

"Is she related to Amelia?" Lily asked

"Yeah, she is her niece" Harry answered his mom

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.**

"**Boot, Terry!" "RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. "Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling."**

Ron shuddered

"Won, Won doesn't like her anymore?" Harry asked and Hermione smirked

"What is this we hear?" Fred asked

"Ron and Lavender dated earlier this year" Hermione said stiffly which only Molly noticed and smiled in a knowing way.

"How did you get a chick like that?" George asked

"She kissed me, anyway it was horrible, and anyway there are plenty of other girls in our year" Ron finished his eyes darting over to Hermione and back in an instant but again only Molly noticed and smiled even more 

"**Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot.**

"No its true" Sirius said

"Still here you know" Malfoy snapped

"Oh, we know we just don't care" Sirius smiled

"**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him."**

"Yes, well you don't have to worry about that anymore do you?" Ginny said leaning against Harry's side

"Definitely not" Harry said pulling her into his side

"**Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" "HUFFLEPUFF!" Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the House at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

"**Granger, Hermione!"**

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head."**

Fred and George snickered

"Ah, Shut it" Hermione said whacking each on the arm

"**GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned."**

Ron groaned again "Why do you have to be so bloody observant all the time Harry?"

"Ronald don't curse" Mrs Weasely reprimanded

"**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?**

"I don't assure thats never happened" Hermione said

"Hogwarts, A History?"Harry asked

"Why of course" She answered in a pompous voice

"Hey, looks like Harrys git his own Moony" Sirius said

"Yeah mini Marauders right there, Harry's me, Ron's you, Hermione's Moony and they just need a wormy and they'll be set" James said

"No!" Harry, Ron, Hermione, _Remus _and _Sirius_ said together

"They don't need a Wormtail" _Sirius _said "Definitely not"

James furrowed his brow in confusion but let George continue with the story

"**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR,"**

Harry smiled, Neville never thought he belonged in Gryffindor but he definitely belonged there from what Harry saw last year.

"**Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."**

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.**

**There weren't many people left now.**

"**Moon" . . . , "Nott" . . . , "Parkinson" . . . , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" . . . , then "Perks, Sally-Anne" . . . , and then, at last —**

"**Potter, Harry!"**

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.**

"**_Potter, _did she say?" **

"**_The _Harry Potter?" **

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. "Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. **

'Crap' Harry thought everyones gonna hear that the hat nearly put him in Slytherin, how were they going to react? Would they hate him? or would they just ignore him?

He'd just have to wait and see

"**Difficult. Very difficult.**

"No its not, Gryffindor through and through" Ron said making harry feel worse and tried not to show it when he gave Ron a weak smile

"**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting. . . . So where shall I put you?"**

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, _Not Slytherin, not Slytherin._**

"**Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, its all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!"**

"Wooo" Cheered James and Sirius

"**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"**

Which they started doing again.

"**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.**

"I really hate when they that" _Sirius _said while he got nodding head of agreement

"**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.**

**And now there were only four people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"**

**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him.**

"**Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.**

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.**

"**Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!**

"**Thank you!"**

Charlie shook his head fondly at his crazy ex-Headmaster

"**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.**

"**Is he — a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.**

"**Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"**

**Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs."**

Now Ron and Both Sirius' were drooling at the mention of all the food

Hermione and Both Remus' rolled their eyes fondly at their bottomless pit best friends

"**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick. Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.**

"**That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak.**

"**Can't you — ?"**

"**I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost." **

"And thats why Ron or Sirius will never become ghosts" Harry laughed

"**I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."**

"**I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!"**

"**I would _prefer _you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.**

"**_Nearly _Headless? How can you be _nearly _headless?"**

"Foolish children" Sirius said shaking his head

"**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted."**

"He should get used to it, someone always asks" James said

"It was you that asked wasn't it" Bill smirked

"Theres a possibility"

"**Like _this,_" he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row!**

"Six Years" James and Sirius yelled

"Don't worry the house cup is back where it belongs" Fred said

James and Sirius sighed in relief 

"**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost."**

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements."**

"Wouldn't you? If you had to sit next to a ghost covered in blood" Malfoy sneered

"**How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.**

"**I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately."**

"We did but he never told us, do you know?" James asked Harry

"No" James looked disappointed

"Yeah but they probably will find out cause they usually know what their not supposed to" Arthur said looking down at his son and his friends who had the decency to look sheepish

"**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts,"**

"Mmmm my favorite" Lily said licking her lips

"Mine too" Harry said smiling, happy that he had another thing in common with him mum

"**chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding . . .**

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families.**

"**I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

"She was lucky he didn't leave" Molly said raising an eyebrow

"**The others laughed. "What about you, Neville?" said Ron. "Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville,"**

"I wonder where Frank and Alice are" Remus wondered aloud

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Molly, Arthur, _Remus _and _Sirius_ looked down in respect for their fallen friends

"**but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned"**

Malfoy snickered and was shot many dirty looks that made him quieten immediately 

"**but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."**

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons"**

"Of course you were" Ron muttered 

"**("I _do _hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing —").**

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin."**

"Oh Merlin, please tell me it isn't" Sirius begged

"Sorry, but then I'd be lying" _Sirius_ said

James and Sirius dropped their faces into their hands shaking their heads

"**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead."**

"What happened?" Lily asked

Harry's eyes widened in recognition the back of Quirrell's head was facing his was, of course

"**Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head. "What is it?" asked Percy. "N-nothing." The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teachers look — a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all."**

Ron snorted "Got that right"

"**Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy.**

"**Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape."**

"Damn it" James said

"You already knew it was" Lily said rolling her eyes

"Yes, but that confirms it" Sirius said

"**He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."**

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again.**

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent."**

"The School really respects him" Arthur said smiling

"**Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. "First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."**

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins."**

"Funnily enough he always did that to us" Remus said smirking

"**I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."**

"Does anyone follow that rule?" Ginny asked

"Not very likely" Harry said

"**Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch.**

"**And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."**

"Well thats weird" Remus

"**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. "He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy."**

"No Harry, Im Sirius" _Sirius_ said smirking

"Oh Merlin, its back" _Remus_ wailed "He hasn't used that joke since 7th year" 

"**Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."**

"**And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.**

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.**

"**Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed:"**

"I'm not going through this again" Ginny said yanking the book out of George's hand and sung

"**_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_**

_**Teach us something please, **_

_**Whether we be old and bald Or young with scabby knees,**_

_**Our heads could do with filling With some interesting stuff,**_

_**For now they're bare and full of air,**_

_**Dead flies and bits of fluff, **_

_**So teach us things worth knowing, **_

_**Bring back what we've forgot, **_

_**Just do your best, we'll do the rest, **_

**_And learn until our brains all rot._"**

"At least she can sing" Harry said laughing at Georges mock hurt face

"Your just saying that because she's your Girlfriend" George muttered

"Maybe" said a smirking Harry

"Hey" Ginny said smacking Harry lightly on the arm as the rest of the room laughed at the couple

"**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march."**

Bill and Charlie rolled their eyes at their younger brothers

"**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.**

"**Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"**

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.**

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.**

"**Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself."**

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.**

"**Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**

"its a bit early to be pulling out the bloody baron card isn't it" Remus asked Percy who had hardly spoken the entire reading.

Percy shrugged in reply becoming less tense around his family

"**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.**

"**Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"**

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.**

"**Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.**

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.**

"**You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."**

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.**

"**Password?" she said.**

"**Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.**

"**Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get _off, _Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."**

James, Sirius and Remus exchanged looks but shrugged it off

"**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once.**

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him,"**

Harry's eyes widened but said nothing

"**telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it — then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking."**

"That was weird" Sirius said

"I don't remember that" Harry said confused

"**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all."**

"Thats it" George said closing the book and passing it to Ron "Your turn" he said

Ron opened up at the page and read **"The Potions Master **Fun"

_**Hey guys sorry I havent upated in a while and im sorry im not proofreading this chapter cause its about 4:30 am when im finishing this and im too tired and I wanted to update soon. Lucky me its the holidays so I might be updateing fast cause I have more time but don't get to excited cause im lazy**_

_**Keep Reading**_

_**Rachel Weasley 99**_


	9. The Potions Master

_**A Very big thank you to ****sunshiniite, The-Magic-Of-Imagination, Phub, vgoonie99, bluethurrunthadun, InfectedWithNargles, Rogue200315, BluEfiRe69, xmidnight9x, crystalrose16, angelgirl960 and The Super Slytherin for favouriting and reviewing and alerting this story it makes me feel as if you guys help me write the chapters with your supports**_

_**Another Thanks to Phub for being my wonderful Beta :)**_

_**Rachel Weasley 99 **_

_**Last Time on U E B 1**_

"_**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all."**_

"_Thats it" George said closing the book and passing it to Ron "Your turn" he said_

_Ron opened up at the page and read **"The Potions Master **Fun"_

"Whoa, wait" Harry stopped Ron as he opened his mouth to read

"What is it" _Remus_ asked

"How come no one said anything about me nearly being sorted into Slytherin?" Harry asked looking around at everyone with raised eyebrows.

"Its not that big of a deal Harry" Ron said "It doesn't change who you are as a person, not all slytherins are bad people"

Everyone in the room looked at him with wide eyes

"What?" He asked looking around

"That was very mature and sweet Ronald" Hermione said slightly surprised

"Its been known to happen" Ron said rolling his eyes

"But really Sweetheart, you need to remember that we all love you no matter what house or your abilities" Lily said looking into the eye's of her son

Malfoy coughed to show his difference from the group

"So none of you care that I was nearly in Slytherin?" Harry asked looking round again

"I'm a little shocked but no I don't care" _Sirius_ said

"Ok well... thats all I wanted to say, Ron you can keep reading" Harry said sitting down next to Ginny and putting and arm around her waist and bringing her closer

Hermione smiled at the couple glad that they finally wised up and got together

"**There, look." **

"**Where?" **

"**Next to the tall kid with the red hair."**

Ron snorted "I feel so loved" he said rolling his eye's

"**Wearing the glasses?" **

"**Did you see his face?" **

"**Did you see his scar?" **

"Bloody hell these kids need something better to do" James burst out

"Language" Lily hissed poking him hard in the arm

"**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day."**

"There's something knew every year" Harry said

"What do you mean" Remus asked

"Well first year its was because 'The Boy Who Lived' (Insert finger air quotes) came to school, second year it was because people thought I was the heir of Slytherin just because I can speck paselmouth, I don't think there was anything for third year, fourth year was because I was the fourth champion."

"Fourth champion for what" Sirius asked as _Sirius_ started to mutter under his breath

"Don't want to ruin the fourth book now do we?" Harry said smirking as Sirius pouted

"Last year was because of what happened at the end of fourth year" Harry continued

"Your not going to tell us are you?" Remus said raising one eyebrow at the boy

"Nope" Harry answered popping the 'p'

"James your your son is mean" Sirius pouted turning to his best friend

The whole room was snickering at younger Sirius' antics, even Malfoy managed a smirk

Once Harry had taken a few deep breaths he continued "Now this year everyones whispering because I'm the Chosen One (air quotes again) and I don't what everyone will be whispering about next year"

"Wow James and Sirius crave that kind of attention at school and you get it without even trying, and I take it you don' like your fame?" Remus said

Ron snorted again "He hates his fame"

"Defiantly not like James in that aspect" _Sirius _said

"Harry is pretty much Lily in James' body" _Remus _said

"Oh" The three Marauders nodded

"**People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring."**

"How long did that take to get annoying" Charlie asked

"Bout five minutes" Harry answered rolling his eyes

"**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes."**

"I think someone should make make a map of Hogwarts for the first years" Bill said

Meanwhile Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, _Sirius, Remus_, James, Sirius and Remus where all trying their hardest not to burst out laughing that statement

"**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday;"**

"I really didn't like those" Arthur said

" Yeah you could be out after curfew and they could lead you straight to a teacher" Molly added on

All of children's eyes widened at their mother

"When and why would you be out after curfew mum" Bill asked

"Only on a few occasions" Molly said her eyes zapping to Arthur and back quickly but not quickly enough for the twins not to notice.

Their eyes widened in horror "ahhhhh" one screamed

"Mental images" the other said holding their head in their hands

The other siblings seemed to catch on because they had looks of disgust on their faces

Percy dropped his head into his hands and said for everyone to hear "I'm scared for life"

Charlie smirked at his younger brother. Maybe spending time with family was rubbing off on him

Once Ron had really calmed down he continues reading his chapter

"**some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place,"**

"Like the kitchens for example" Remus said

"We need to go down there often because this one" James said pointing his thumb at Sirius "is a bottomless pit"

"Still is" _Remus_ muttered as _Sirius _beamed at him 

"**and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending."**

"Their really annoying" Bill said 

"**It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk."**

"Thats because they can" _Sirius _said

"Well yeah I know that now" Harry said rolling his eyes

"**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open."**

The room as one snickered that happening to all of them at least once

"**Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**

James, Remus and Sirius suddenly burst out laughing

"You taught him that didn't you" Arthur said

"Remus? Your supposed to be the mature and responsible one out of you three" Lily said shocked

"What can I say? These two our bad influences on me" He said still trying to not laugh again

"**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning."**

Fred and George stood up and gave then a standing ovation and sat back down

Ron rolled his eyes and kept going

"**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor."**

"Of course it was" Ginny said looking fondly at Her brother and his best friend

"**He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing."**

"Yeah passing" Hermione muttered

"**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later."**

"How they do that?" Charlie said furrowing his bright orange eyebrows

"Who knows?-" Fred started

"Who cares?" George finished

"**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins)"**

"Why thanks you" They said in unison standing up taking a bow

Percy smirked at his younger brothers but tried to hid it but it was not missed by Arthur who smiled at his son thinking the same thing as his son Charlie before him.

"**and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick."**

"Got that right" Sirius said

"you even more because you have a thing against cats in general" Remus said rolling his eyes

"And whats wrong with cats" Hermione said raising an eyebrow

Sirius was about to open his mouth when he saw Ron behind Hermione shaking his head

"Nothing?" Sirius said to a nodding Ron

"Good choice" Hermione said rolling her eyes

"**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words."**

"Bill snickered "Defiantly raised by muggles"

"**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.**

**Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost."**

Everyone groaned

"**Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up."**

"You know, I think that if Dumbledore hired a new less boring teacher, people may actually pay attention in that class" Arthur said

"No dad, he can't do that it's a great place to take a nap" Ron said smiling as all sibling laughed at his response even Percy even though he tried hard to hide the smile that had taken place on his face.

"**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight."**

Arthur chuckled at his over zealous ex-professor

"**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.**

"**Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."**

"Yet she always let you back in" Lily said

"Ah dear Lily flower thats because she has a soft spot for the Marauders" Sirius said

"And Quidittch" Fred said looking at Harry out of the corner of his eye

"Yeah she definitely has a soft spot for the Gryffindor Quidittch team" James said smirking

"Why does the subject always have to go to Quidittch? Its about as boring as a History of Magic lesson" Harry groaned

James was shaking his head with a face that looked close to tears while all the Weasley's, _Remus_ and _Sirius_ where going red in the face from not laughing.

Once Ron went back to normal colour he began to read again

"**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time."**

"They always do that, They do some really cool magic and then drop the bomb that you don't get to do that for another couple years" Charlie said shaking his head

"**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile."**

"She never gave me a smile" James pouted

"Maybe because she was always yelling at you" Remus suggested

James just shrugged and continued to listen to Ron

"**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke."**

"But that should be one of the best classes" Remus

"I doesn't really get good for about two years trust us" Hermione said as _Remus _beamed at her

"Really who is you DADA teacher then" Remus asked

"I don't you know him" Harry said smirking "Do you guys think they'll know him?" he said turning towards Ron and Hermione

"Nah, don't think so" Ron said keeping a straight

During this exchange _Remus _and _Sirius _where doubled over in silent laughter

"Well who was your teacher in second year?" Sirius asked

"Do you remember Gilderoy Lockhart" _Sirius_ said finally calming down

Remus, James and Sirius groaned "That Ravenclaw kid couple years below?"

"The one thats always fixing his hair" James said wrinkling his nose

"Says you" Lily muttered but James heard her anyway

"I never fix mine, I mess it up" He said running a hand through his already extremely messy hair

"Anyway, thats what they get second year DADA" _Sirius_ said

"Sucks to be you guys" Sirius said

"tell me about it" Harry muttered

"**His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards.**

**There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once."**

"Congratulations" James, Remus and Sirius shouted jumping out of their seats

Harry rolled his eyes at his dad and his two best friends

"**What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.**

"**Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true."**

"Yes it is" George said

"**Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.**

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls."**

"You have such a lovely owl" Ginny said dropping her head onto Harry's shoulder

"Yeah she's great" Harry said putting his head on top of Ginny's

"**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:**

**Dear Harry, I know you get Friday afternoons off so would you like**

**to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?**

**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig. Hagrid"**

"Thats very nice of him" Lily smiled

"**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled _Yes, please, see you later _on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.**

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong."**

"What?" Fred asked astounded 

"**Snape didn't dislike Harry — he _hated _him."**

"Ah thats better"

"**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.**

"**Ah, _yes,_" he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — _celebrity._"**

"Oh here we go" Ron said rolling his eyes at his now DADA teacher

"**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands.**

Draco Malfoy was not snickering now with all the glares being thrown his way

"**Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**

"**You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**

"I have to admit that was a pretty good speech" James said "but he ruined it when he called you all dunderheads"

"**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead."**

Ron snickered

"Oh shut it" she said lightly slapping him on the arm

"**Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**

"Oh come on Sev, Thats not even a first year question" Lily said disappointed at her old friend

"**_Powdered root of what to an infusion of what_? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air."**

"How did you know that" Bill asked

"I read" she answered her cheeks tinging pink

"**I don't know, sir," said Harry. Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything."**

"Did he say it was? No" Remus said 

"**He ignored Hermione's hand. "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to**

**find me a bezoar?"**

"Again we didn't learn that until last term" Charlie said

"I can't believe he still holding a grudge against me and taking it out on my son." James said looking down

"**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**

"**I don't know, sir." **

"**Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"**

"He did though, its never required to learn them all by heart" Fred said angry at Snape

"**Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He _had _looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in _One Thousand Mag- ical Herbs and Fungi_?"**

"Obviously" Ginny said in a perfect impression of Snape _**(she says it the way he says it in the 5**__**th**__** movie to Umbridge)**_

Harry stared at her with wide eyes "Please for the love of Merlin, don't ever do that again"

"**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.**

"**What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**

"Trick question" Charlie snarled

"**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

"**I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"**

The laughed as one

"He's got Lily's cheek in him" Sirius said smiling

"**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.**

"**Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"**

"you never told them too" Ginny all as yelled at the book

"**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

"It was worth it though" Harry snickered

"**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like."**

"Favoritism" _Sirius_ coughed 

"**He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**

"**Idiot boy!" snarled Snape,"**

"Slimy Git" Harry Snarled

"**clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"**

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose."**

"Help the poor boy" _Remus_ shouted

"**Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**

"**You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."**

"Oh come on, thats completely unfair" Sirius snarled and muttered a few curse words under his breath

"**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.**

"**Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."**

"Now we all know thats true" George said

"**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week"**

Ron sighed "What it was like to only worry about losing two points" 

"**_why _did Snape hate him so much?"**

"Because he's a grown man who can't let go of a grudge from his teenage years" James spat

"**Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"**

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from in- side and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, say- ing, "_Back_, Fang — _back._"**

Hermione shook her head "Hagrid has the strangest way of naming his pets. He'll name the softies things like Fang, but its the ones names Fluffy and Norbert that you need to watch out for"

"Got that right" Ron said shaking his head at their half-giant best friend.

"**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.**

"**Hang on," he said. "_Back, _Fang."**

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.**

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**

"**Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**

"**This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.**

"**Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."**

"And he spent the other half chasing us out of the forest" Sirius said proudly

"**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.**

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git''**

"**An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime."**

"Yeah, he's drool her to death" Charlie said rolling his eyes

"**D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it."**

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.**

"**But he seemed to really _hate _me." "Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that."  
><strong>"He knew we hated each other" James said

"**How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals."**

"Nice subject change Hagrid, very subtle. But i'm honored that it was me" Charlie chuckled

"**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose."**

"Really?" Ginny asked sarcasticly

"**While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the _Daily Prophet_:**

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**

**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown.**

**Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.**

"**But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon."**

"So very polite aren't they" Bill said

"**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.**

"**Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"**

"Thats a scary thought" Lily mused

"**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. _The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. _Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?**

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?"**

"_Yes, Hogwarts and yes"_ Harry thought answering his own questions

"Ginny your turn" Ron said passing the book to his little sister

"Um, before we start could I please talk to you mum and dad in private?" Percy asked to the many shocked faces

Molly and Arthur nodded mutely and stood up and followed their son into a door that the room had provided.

_**Well theres another chapter done. Hope you liked it. Next Chapter will be up after I update Bloody Hell Time Travel.**_

_**Another Thanks To My Beta Phub Who Helps a lot :D**_

_**Keep Reading :)**_

_**Rachel Weasley 99 xxx**_

_**Word Count-5,337**_


	10. The Midnight Duel

_**Hey guys next chapter up hope you like it. Thanks to **__**Twighlightgirl105, **__**snape zorro, **__**EsmeCullen2398, dreams823 for favouriting and alerting**_

_**To chicken moo ()- Ok you may have read it in another story, but that does not mean I have stolen it. Most of what I write in this story is some of what I would have or have said while reading and that was one of the things. And if you or anyone have something else to say like that don't be a coward and don't leave an anon review.**_

_**Sorry everyone that it took a while to update but the beginning was giving me trouble.**_

_**Thanks to my Beta Phub ;)**_

_**Last Time on U E B 1**_

_Molly and Arthur nodded mutely and stood up and followed their son into a door that the room had provided._

All of the Weasley children looked at each other in shook. Why would Percy want to talk to their parents. At the same time a light came on in their eyes as they all thought of the same thing

"Extendable Ears" they said getting up and walking over to the door

"Extendable what?" James asked

"Ears" Fred explained pulling out a flesh coloured string from his pocket and untangling it "We came up with them last year for your joke shop"

"you slip this under a door for example" George said holding the ear up to show them "And you can hear anything thats going on, unless they've put an Imperturbable Charm on the door"

"Wicked" Remus said in wonder

Charlie pushed the ear under the door and the Weasley children could hear the entire conversation like it was happening in the room.

Inside then Room

Molly and Arthur had seated them selves on the couch that had appeared when the door opened while Percy paced for a little then finally spoke

"I am so sorry and I know thats not enough for what I did but I had to say that first. I have no excuse for what I did but I did it for a few reasons and you deserve to know why" He said looking Arthur in the eye.

"I always felt left out in the family, Bill is the eldest, Charlie is the one thats great with animals, Fred and George run a amazing joke shop which I have to say is filled with genius products. Ron is always the one saving the day and Ginny is the youngest and the only girl. I always felt like there was nothing special about me and then I got the promotion hoping you would be proud of me. Another was fear. I feared that what you said was true and I only got the job to spy on the family, I didn't want to believe that. I wanted to have achieved something that Bill and Charlie hadn't done already." he said looking down.

Molly spoke through her tears. "Percy we have always been proud of you. It doesn't matter if someone has already done it we love you all the same"

"Thank you, I used to think I wasn't good enough for this family everyone had a special talent and what was I as the twins called a Bighead Boy, but now I know I don't deserve to be apart of this family because I have hurt you all too much. So if you can find it in your hearts to forgive the worlds biggest prat I will be forever grateful and if not I underst-" Before he could finish the sentence he was taken into hug by Arthur.

Molly engulfed her husband and her son into one of her rib-cracking hugs and let her emotions flow.

Percy had finally gotten hold of himself and turned to open the door and standing there at the door where all his brothers and sister all staring at him like they'ed never seen him before. He opened his mouth to apologize when he was cut off when Fred grabbed him and gave his a fierce hug.

"We heard everything" he whispered into his ear "Welcome Back Perc" he said slightly louder and was trapped when the rest of his sibling joined the hug.

Once the nice family moment was over Charlie stepped back and smacked Percy on the back of the head.

"Thats for thinking your not good enough"

Now it was Bill's turn

"And thats was for thinking your not good at anything. Merlin for the smart one you can be pretty stupid"

Percy was now rubbing two spots on his head "Will you stop hitting me"

The two eldest rolled their eyes as the family headed back toward the chairs. Everyone else sat down while Percy headed over to Harry who stood up.

"Harry I'm terribly sorry for not believing you. I know your not crazy, thought you might be headed that way if you spend too much time with these two" he said pointing at Fred and George who beamed at at Harry in response

"I'll keep that in mind and everything is forgiven and forgotten" Harry said holding out his hand.

Percy shook it and moved over to his seat before suddenly turning around and looked Harry in the eye "Oh, and if you hurt her I'll hurt you"

"Same goes for us" Bill called gesturing to him and the rest of his brothers.

"Don't worry bout me boys. If he hurts me, I'll go at him first" Ginny smirked raising one eyebrow at Harry who sat back down in his seat next to her looking slightly nervous.

"Her personality matches her hair, nice" _Sirius_ said nodding his head approval

Harry rolled his eyes at his Godfather as Ginny began to read.

"**Chapter nine The Midnight Duel" **she read

"And what exactly supposed to mean" Lily said raising an eyebrow at her son

"Er- er- nothing" Harry said not meeting her eyes

"**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy."**

"Im honored Potter" Malfoy drawled

"**Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday"**

"But thats a good thing" James said

"No its stupid and boring" Harry said

"But what are the others groaning at?" Remus asked 

"**and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together."**

"Ah thats why" he nodded

"What I don't get is, why do they put rivalry houses together for the most dangerous subjects?" Hermione spoke up "We have Potions, DADA, Flying lessons and latter we have Care of Magical Creatures. Do they want someone to get injured?"

"Most of the time someone usually does" Ron smirked thinking of the flying lesson and buckbeak

"Very true" Harry said joining in

"**Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."**

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else."**

"Then why do you hate it" Sirius asked

"Once I got up in the air I realized how boring it actually was" Harry said looking bored

"**You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the House Quidditch teams"**

Malfoy silently scowled at Harry who smirked in direction

"**and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters."**

"Do you even know what that is?" Hermione asked Malfoy

"**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom."**

Ron had sunk low into his chair as his mother and brother looked at him

"**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book — not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called _Quidditch Through the Ages."_**

"Only book you've ever read ay Padfoot" Remus said

"You wound me Moony" Sirius said putting a hand over his heart****

"**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.**

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.**

"**It's a Remembrall!" he explained.**

"I hate those they tell you that you've forgotten something but not what you've forgotten" Lily exclaimed "Stupid" she muttered in an after thought

"**Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh . . ." His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, ". . . you've forgotten something . . ."**

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand."**

"Of course you did" _Sirius _said leaning on his arm

"**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash."**

"She's good like that" Lily said

"**What's going on?" "Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. "Just looking," he said,"**

"yup sure" _Sirius_ said

"**and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day,"**

"Perfect flying conditions" Charlie said finally getting excited

"**and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left."**

James wrinkled his nose "They've gotten worse"

"**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.**

"**Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."**

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**

"**Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!' "**

"**UP!" everyone shouted.**

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once,"**

"That means your a natural" James cried looking thoroughly depressed

"**but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid,"**

"Pretty good theory actually" Bill thought 

"**thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.**

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

"**Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —"**

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**

"**Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and —**

**WHAM"**

The room winced that didn't sound good

"**a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.**

"**Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get."**

**She turned to the rest of the class.**

"**None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."**

Harry and Ron exchanged glances

"**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.**

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter."**

"Little snot" George grumbled under his breath

"**Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins joined in. "Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.**

"I like this girl already" Lily said

"**Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought _you'd _like fat little crybabies, Parvati."**

"**Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."**

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.**

"**Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly.**

"Good on you Harry" _Sirius _cheered

"**Everyone stopped talking to watch.**

**Malfoy smiled nastily.**

"**I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?"**

"**Give it _here_!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he _could _fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"**

**Harry grabbed his broom.**

"**_No_!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble."**

**Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out be- hind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was _wonderful._**

James looked at Harry with astounded eyes but said nothing****

"**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned."**

"Definably not expecting that" Malfoy muttered

"**Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!" "Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried. Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and**

**grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**

"**No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.**

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.**

"**Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.**

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**

Jame started ranting to Sirius about how thats amazing and how his son should love Quidittch like he does, he missed the looks Fred and George were giving Harry

"we knew you were good Harry-" Fred said

"But we never knew you were that good" George finished still looking stunned

"**HARRY POTTER!"**

"Oo busted" Remus winced

**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. He got to his feet, trembling.**

"**_Never _— in all my time at Hogwarts —"**

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— how _dare _you — might have broken your neck —"**

"**It wasn't his fault, Professor —"**

"**Be quiet, Miss Patil —" "But Malfoy —" "That's _enough, _Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."**

"Your in for it now" said Sirius who had silenced James mid way throughg his rant 

"**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left,"**

"They didn't last for long did they" Ron muttered into Harry's ear leaning over the chair

"**walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it."**

"Drama Queen" Ginny whispered into his ear and giggled at his offended look

"**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Pro- fessor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.**

"**Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a mo- ment?"**

**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?**

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused.**

"**Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry.**

"**In here."**

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.**

"**Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.**

"**Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker."**

"What!" James, Sirius and Remus "She gave you a spot on the house and you still don't like it"

Harry couldn't take it anymore he burst out laughing and that set off everyone else in on the joke

The look on the Marauders faces was priceless

"What everybody laughing at?" Lily asked

_Sirius and Remus_ both got up so they could high-five Harry

"Nice work, prongslet, I'm so proud" _Sirius _said whipping away a fake tear

"so this whole Harry hates Quidittch thing was a joke?" Sirius said

Harry got up and bowed as James' jaw dropped

"My son played a prank on me - I'm so proud" James shouted

"So this means your on the team" he asked "Are you still on it?"

"Captains still on the team" Ginny smirked

James did a little Happy dance around the table

"We'll corrupt you yet, you pulled a prank on the legendary Marauders. Defiantly prankster materiel" Fred said exchanging looks with his twin.

James gasped again "Your a first year"

"Yup" Ron answered "Youngest seeker in a century"

"He's never lost us a game" Fred said

"That doesn't count it wasn't your fault" George said as Harry opened his mouth

James looked like he was going to wet himself with excitement while Ginny kept reading.

"**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight. "Are you serious, Professor?"**

Both Remus' clapped a hand over both Sirius' mouth 

"**Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?" Harry nodded silently."**

"Thats crazy first time on a broom and a school broom at that" Bill said in awe

"**He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.**

"**He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it." **

"I resent that" Charlie pouted

Percy snicked "Only because you know its true"

Charlie poked his tongue out at his younger brother who continued to snicker

"**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once."**

"They had" Fred and George said together

"**Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.**

"**Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.**

"**He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light — speedy — we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."**

"Which one did you get?" Remus asked

"I got a nimbus, it was fantastic but nothing beats my firebolt" Harry said looking at _Sirius_

_Remus _shook his head "Only this one" he said pointing his thumb at _Sirius_ "would think an international standard broom for a thirteen year old"

"You have an international standard broom

"**I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. _Flattened _in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks. . . ."**

"Why would she want to" Fred muttered to George go replied by giving a snort of laughter

"**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.**

"**I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."**

**Then she suddenly smiled.**

"**Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."**

"That I was" James said puffing out his chest

"Calm down Prongsie or your broomstick won't be able ti lift up that head of yours" Sirius said completely serious (no pun intended)

"**You're _joking._" It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had**

**happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it."**

"impressive" Arthur said "you've managed to get a Weasley man forget about his food"

"**_Seeker_?" he said. "But first years _never _— you must be the youngest House player in about —"**

"— **a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."**

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry.**

"**I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."**

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.**

"**Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too — Beaters."**

"Nice" Sirius said

"**I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch Cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**

"I couldn't imagine that" Harry smirked

"It was quite an interesting site" George said

"**Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."**

"**Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."**

"Found in your first week? It took us a month to find that one" Remus said looking disappointed

"**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.**

"**Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"**

"**You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.**

"Ah Snap" Hermione said snapping her finger across her face 

"**There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**

"**I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizards duel before, I suppose?"**

"**Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"**

"Ron I-" Ginny said shaking her head not able to finish the sentence

"**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.**

"**Crabbe," he said.**

"Surprise that he looks like the stupider one" Ginny said as Harry chuckled

"**Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."**

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other.**

"**What _is _a wizards duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"**

"**Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually,"**

"Thats really going to reassure him, Ron" Bill said in a sarcastic voice 

"**getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other."**

"With Harry you never know" _Remus _muttered remember the power coming out of the thirteen year old he taught

"**Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."**

"I was" Malfoy grumbled

"**And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"**

"Trow it away and punch him in the nose" Sirius suggested

"**Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.**

"Maybe you too are more alike than we thought" Remus said

"I feel so sorry for you Ron" James said

Sirius felt the need to smack him in the face with his pillow

"**Excuse me. They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger. "Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron. Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. "I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were**

**saying —" "Bet you could," Ron muttered. "— and you _mustn't _go wandering around the school at night,**

**think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."**

"**And it's really none of your business," said Harry. "Good-bye," said Ron.**

Both and Lily were now glaring their respected sons who were avoiding their mothers looks of death

"**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**

"I still don't think you should be doing this but that was quite good advise Ronald" Molly said reluctantly smiling at her son

"**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming"**

"Stupid Potter honour" Lily said still glaring at her son and now her boyfriend

"**Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."**

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."**

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown."**

"Now they might see some sense and go back to bed" Lily said hopefully

"**_You_!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"**

"**I almost told your brother,"**

"Low blow Hermione" Fred said 

"**Hermione snapped, "Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."**

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering."**

Hermione looked quite upset

"I'm so sorry Hermione" Harry said turning to her

"its fine Harry she said waving it off "We become friends in a few chapters I expect"

"**Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.**

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose."**

Hermione putt on a mock offended expression "I was not"

"No it was more like an angry cat" Ron smirk when she hit his chest lightly

"**Don't you _care _about Gryffindor, do you _only _care about yourselves, _I _don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."**

"**Go away."**

"**All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so —"**

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor Tower."**

"I hate it when she does that because you never know when she'll get back" Sirius said

"**Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.**

"**That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."**

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.**

"**I'm coming with you," she said. "You are _not._" "D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to**

**catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."**

"Who knew the Mudblood had guts" Malfoy sneered

In a instant wands where coming out and being pointed at the blond but Hermione simply leaned forward a little and looked him in the eye

"Do you want me to slap you again?" she asked raising an eyebrow slightly

Malfoy didn't answer her but looked anywhere else

"Thats what I thought" she said with satisfied smirk "Now everyone please put your wands away and Ginny continued reading

"**You've got some nerve —" said Ron loudly. "Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something." It was a sort of snuffling. "Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark. It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer. "Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed." "Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." "How's your arm?" said Harry. "Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended**

**it in about a minute."**

"Then why did he have to stay the night" Lily asked

"Poppy is very strict with her patients" Remus knowing fully well how strict she was

"**Good — well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later —"**

"**Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."**

"He's not very pleasant to come across in the day let alone the night" Arthur sympathized

"**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.**

"**If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."**

"I can teach you" Ginny said sweetly

"**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.**

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.**

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.**

"**He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.**

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak — and it wasn't Malfoy.**

"**Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris."**

"Malfoy you little shit, you ratted them out" _Sirius _yelled at Malfoy

"**Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room."**

"Thats way too close" James said his eyes widening slightly

"**They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."**

"**This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run — he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.**

"Dammit" _Remus _exclaimed

**The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**

"**RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following — they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going — they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**

"**I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**

"**I — _told _— you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I — told — you."**

"Now is not really the time for "I told you so's" Hermione" George said shaking his head in amusment

"**We've got to get back to Gryffindor Tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."**

"**Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you — Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."**

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**

"**Let's go."**

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.**

**It was Peeves."**

"Worst person you can meet while out of bed" Bill sympathized 

"**He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.**

"**Shut up, Peeves — please — you'll get us thrown out." Peeves cackled. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty." "Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." "Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a sanity voice, but**

**his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know." "Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves —"**

"And thats the worst thing you could have done" Charlie said

"**this was a big mistake. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"**

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked.**

"**This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"**

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.**

"**Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "_Alohomora_!"**

**The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.**

"**Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."**

"**Say 'please.' " "Don't mess with me, Peeves, now _where did they go_?" "Shan't say nothing if you don't say please,"**

James sighed in relief "He's not going to tell him"

"**said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice. "All right — _please._" "NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.**

"**He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay — get _off, _Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "_What_?"**

**Harry turned around — and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare — this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far."**

"What was it" almost everyone in the room yelled

"**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.**

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs."**

"WHAT" yelled the room again

"What is that doing there" Molly screeched

"**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly get- ting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**

**Harry groped for the doorknob — between Filch and death, he'd take Filch."**

"You better" Growled Lily

"**They fell backward — Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared — all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor."**

"you ran from the third floor to the seventh corridor?" _Remus_ asked

"Wouldn't you if you just saw that at age eleven?" Harry asked

"**Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces. "Never mind that — pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common**

**room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs. It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again. "What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."**

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again.**

"**You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"**

"**The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."**

"**No, _not _the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."**

"How did you notice something like that when the thing had three heads?" _Sirius_ asked

"**She stood up, glaring at them.**

"**I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."**

Most people in the room turned her with one eyebrow raised

"**Ron stared after her, his mouth open.**

"**No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"**

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed.**

"Why Hermione? Why" Sirius said

"If he's anything like these two he wont stop until he figures it out" Remus said

"He is" Ron and Hermione said together looking their best friend 

"**The dog was guarding something. . . . What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide — except perhaps Hogwarts.**

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was."**

"And thats it" Ginny said "Harry your turn and if you skip anything i'll curse you into oblivion"

Harry and nodded and read "The next chapters called **"Halloween" **

_**Hello hope you liked this chapter because I wasn't very happy with it and hope all you Starkids out spotted my reference in there ;) **_

_**Sorry this chapter has not been read through because im not bothered -_-**_

_**Please Review and again thanks for reading.**_

_**Keep Reading**_

_**Rachel Weasley 99**_

_**Word Count:7617 **_


	11. Sorry Please Read!

_**Hey guys sorry this isn't a chapter. But I just need to ask your opinion of the last couple of chapters. I've been really disappointed with because I really didn't like them. My family is going through a rough patch and I feel my writing is slipping. Can I just have your opinion of the last couple of chapters that would be great. And that I'm going on a small break from writing at the moment because it just doesn't feel right. Sorry Again and Thank you sooooooo much for reading my stories.**_

_**Keep Reading**_

_**Rachel Weasley 99 **_


	12. Halloween

_**Hello everyone i'm back to writing I feel a lot better that I did and I hope I feel better with my writing. I very big Thanks **__**The Super Slytherin, WeLoveWeLive, Heart of the Phoenix, obsessive360, mizz-shy-gurl, OpenBookLina and anon () for you words of support. They made me smile and I felt a lot better. Another big thanks is in order to Nymphadora200, shadowdreams4, jems08, marzip, Laura-ems-10798, blom98, Sassquash, **__**eternal stars 5, **__**WizardChick4Eva, Black160, **__**bookhater95 **__**and mrs zhaila vale for favouriting and subscribing me and this story ;) **_

_**Thanks to my Beta Phub for all your help with both my stories :)**_

_**Last Time on U E B 1**_

_Harry and nodded and read "The next chapters called _**_"Halloween" _**

The trio's eyes widened they knew exactly what was coming in this chapter and they didn't think the adults would be very with them being in the same room with a fully grown mountain troll let alone fighting one.

_Remus_ and _Sirius_ shivered slightly, their knew theory is that nothing good happened on Halloween, little did they know the trio was about to prove both sides of that theory.

Harry made his eyes go back to normal before he started to read

"**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful."**

"Stupid Potter and his stupid luck" Malfoy grumbled he was not happy at all seeing them at breakfast the next day

Ron and Harry heard him grumbling and exchanged smirks

"**Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one."**

Ginny smacked Harry upside the head while Hermione did the same thing to Ron.

"Ow what was that for" they said together looking at one of the girls, rubbing the spot on the back of their heads

"One, because that was not an excellent adventure" Hermione began

"And two you will not be having be having another one" Ginny finished

Harry raised his eyebrow slightly at his girlfriend "One, you do know do know this is in the past?" Harry said

"And two he's Harry Potter he can't have a quiet year even if he wanted it" Ron finished smirking at the two girls

"So the next seven books are going to be stressful for me aren't they" James asked

"Not all years Third year wasn't that bad" Harry said trying to reassure his dad

"But wasn't that the year you had a crazy mad man after you?" Ron said trying to keep the smile of his face

"I have that every year though" Harry said furrowing his brow in mock confusion

"No this was the other guy" Ron said

"Oh yeah I remember him" Harry said his face lighting up "What was his name again?" Harry asked

_Sirius_ scowled and crossed his arm with a huff in mock annoyance

Though through this whole exchange Lily was bitting her nails of one hand and had James' hand in a vice like grip in the other _'How on earth could he be so casual about all of this'_ she thought about her son.

Once Harry had stop trying to guess the name he continued to read still red in the face from trying not the laugh 

"**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.**

"**It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.**

"Or Both" James guessed

"**Or both," said Harry.**

"Me and Harry think alike" James said his face brightening with happiness

"I'd get out while you can Harry" Remus suggested

Now it was James' turn to hit someone over the back of the head 

"**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.**

**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again."**

"Smart boy" Molly muttered under her breath

"**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus."**

Fred and George winced "How on Earth did you three become friends if you thought like that?"

Ron and Harry who had their heads in their hands in shame just shook their heads

"**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later."**

"What is it" Sirius said sitting up a little straighter

"**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor."**

Ron sucked in a breath as though that personally offended him

"**They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.**

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:**

**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session."**

"Cool" was the word that was heard around the room

"**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read. "A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even _touched _one."**

**They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it."**

"Why do you care so much about what they do" Charlie said clearly annoyed with the young Malfoy

"**That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."**

**Ron couldn't resist it.**

"**It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."**

"**What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."**

Everyone's eyes in the room where turned towards Malfoy with glares its surprising he hadn't been burnt yet

"**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.**

"**Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked. "Potters been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly. "Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry.**

"**Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"**

"Suck on that" Bill said

"William" Molly said surprised her eldest

"What" Arthur just shook his head at his son

"**A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added."**

"Way to rub it Harry" Sirius said reaching around to high-five his future Godson

"**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion.**

"**Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team. . . ."**

"**So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.**

"**I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry. "Yes, don't stop now," said Ron,"**

Ron groaned "How are you friends with me when I was such a wanker to you?"

Hermione sat up and kissed him on the check "Because I-"

She stopped mid-sentence not knowing where it would put their friendship if she told him

Fred had finally had enough of it. Rolled his eyes, lean't over to Hermione and whispered into her ear "Just tell him what everybody already knows"

Hermione was taken back with what she heard but she did what she was told

Her eyes stared on her lap but slowly moved up his chest onto his face, she stopped shortly at the freckles and a slight smile can to her mouth. Besides his clear blue eye's the freckles were her favorite part about his appearance.

Her eye's locked with his as she quickly lean't in and captured his lips in her own. His reaction instant his hands moved to her waist as her's moved to behind his neck.

The rooms reaction was a bit slower from the shock of it all.

"Well its about bloody time" Harry said shaking his head

"Harry" Lily scolded

"Sorry, but I've been waiting for that to happen for about five years" Harry tried to explain over the sound of wolf-whistling coming from James, both Sirius', Fred, George, Bill, Percy and Charlie.

Molly had tears in her eyes, overly happy that it finally happened.

Hermione and Ron broke apart for the need of air, resting their foreheads against each others and smiling like there was no tomorrow

Hermione suddenly turned her head towards Fred "Do you think he got it?" She asked innocently

"Loud and Clear" he said smiling at his brothers new girlfriend

Hermione and Ron leant in again but Harry stopped them by clearing his throat and giving them a pointed look

Ron didn't look to happy but turned so Hermione could snuggle into his side as he wrapped an arm around her. 

"**its doing us so much good." Hermione marched away with her nose in the air. Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night. He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last."**

"I'm surprised you lasted that long, if it was me I would have opened it right there on the table" Charlie chuckled

"**Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.**

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top."**

James practically drooling by this point, in fact all the Quidittch nuts in the room had a far off look in their eyes

"**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. He'd never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high."**

Hermione giggled "I never thought of it like"

"But now that you say it" Lily grinned

"**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling — he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch."**

"Oi Charlie, your drooling" Bill said smacking his younger brother on the head to try to get him out of his daze

"**Hey, Potter, come down!"**

**Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him.**

"**Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant . . . you really are a natural."**

Fred whistled slowly "Thats one of the best compliments you can get from Wood"

"**I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."**

Harry sighed "Those were the days when practice was only three days a week"

Fred and George nodded in agreement

"**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls."**

"Quaffle, Two Bludgers and Snitch" Charlie recited

"Yes Charlie, we know what the balls are" Ginny said soothingly

"**Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."**

"Angelia" George said with a big grin on his face

"Alicia" Fred followed smirking at the look on his brother's face

"And Katie" Harry finished

"**Three Chasers,** **"Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.**

"**This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"**

"**The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So — that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"**

"**What's basketball?" said Wood curiously.**

"**Never mind," said Harry quickly.**

"**Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper — I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."**

"**Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.**

"**I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this." He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat. "I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said.**

"**These two are the Bludgers." He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly**

**smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.**

"**Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.**

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air — it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.**

"**See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team — the Weasley twins are ours"**

Said twins stood up and took a bow

"— **it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So — think you've got all that?"**

"**Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off.**

"**Very good," said Wood.**

"**Er — have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand.**

"**Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers —"**

"— **unless they crack my head open."**

"**Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers — I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."**

"Stop, your embarrassing us" Fred giggled

"**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.**

"**_This,_" said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot."**

"**It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages — I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.**

"**Well, that's it — any questions?"**

**Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.**

"**We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it."**

"I doubt it" _Remus_ said thinking of the amazing skill he saw in Harry at his time at Hogwarts

"**Let's try you out with a few of these."**

**He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.**

**Harry didn't miss a single one"**

"Wow, that crazy" Sirius said highly impressed 

"**and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.**

"**That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle."**

Harry put his head down in shame and Fred noticed the change in attitude

"Ginny smack Harry across the head for me" he said

"Ok" but before her hand could reach Harry's head using his seeker skills he caught her wrist

"Oh, and why am I hitting him again?" Ginny asked

"Now you ask" Harry muttered finally letting go of her wrist

"Because he's being stupid and blaming himself for us losing that year" Fred explained glaring at Harry

"When is going to get through your thick skull that no one blames you?" George said rolling his

"But it's my fau-" Harry tried to say was cut of by the twins

"Finish that sentences and we will hex you" said in perfect unison

Harry eyes widened in fear but went back to reading.

"**I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."**

"Yeah Charlie, you broke Wood's heart how could you?" Fred shaking his head sadly

Charlie just rolled his eye's at his younger brother and listened to Harry

"**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had."**

"That because Hogwarts is second home to almost everyone" James said

"Or a first home for others" _Sirius_ and Harry sadly

"But now you have two homes Harry" Ron said grinning at his best friend

"and the other one is?" Harry questioned looking confused

Every single Weasley in the room rolled their eyes

"The Burrow of course. Maybe George was right about the thick skull thing" Ron said shaking his head at his mate

Harry's cheeks turned a fabulous red colour and tried to hide them by starting to read again 

"**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.**

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye)."**

"Harry thats not very nice" Lily scolded

"**Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this."**

"you were" they both said together, looked at each other and then burst put laughing 

"**She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.**

"**Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."**

_Remus_ started to snicker and _Sirius_ turned red

Lily looked around James to look at them "Of course you tried it didn't you" she said raising an eyebrow at _Sirius_

"I just wanted to see if it really worked" he said innocently

"And does it" Bill asked amusement in his voice

_Sirius_ started to rub his chest "yes" he grumbled as Bill started to laugh

"**It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it — Harry had to put it out with his hat."**

"Thats maybe the only thing their useful for" Sirius said thoughtfully

"**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.**

"**_Wingardium Leviosa_!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**

"**You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**

"**You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled."**

"Even I know that was a bad choice Weasley" Malfoy said lacking his usual sneering tone

"Yeah I know" Ron grumbled

"**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"**

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.**

"**Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"**

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class."**

"I'm really sorry Ron" Hermione fretted

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the one who should be sorry for what I said that day" he said frowning

Hermione's face dropped for a split second but covered it by snuggling even closer to Ron

"**It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."**

"Ronald" "Harry" Molly and Lily scolded

"I know" "What did I do?" came both reply's from Harry and Ron

Lily ignored her son as he looked wide-eyed at Ginny who was laughing into his shoulder

"**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face — and was startled to see that she was in tears."**

"**I think she heard you."**

"**So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."**

"How in the bloody hell do they go from that" Ginny said gesturing the book in Harry's hand "to that" she finished gesturing to the couple snuggled together on the couch.

"thats not even some of the worst of it some fights they've had over the years I didn't think they'ed ever talk to each other again" Harry said furrowing his eyebrows "but I always knew it would happen in the end" a small smile crossed his face as he looked at his two best friends

"**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds."**

"Thanks guys" Hermione said trying and failing to sound hurt

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know."**

"Holy shit, what the hell is a troll doing in the school" Sirius widened his eyes in fear and shock

"**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint."**

"Bloody coward" Harry grumbled to himself

"**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**

"**Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"**

**Percy was in his element."**

"That you were Perc" Fred snickered

Percy couldn't help but have a smug grin on his face

"**Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"**

"**How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**

"**Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**

"Even Peeves knows whats going to far" Remus furrowing his eyebrows trying to figure out who did let the Troll in

"**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**

"**I've just thought — Hermione." "What about her?" "She doesn't know about the troll." Ron bit his lip.**

"**Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."**

"Tell a teacher" Lily all but yelled "I do not want you anywhere near the damn troll"

"**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**

"**Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.**

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view."**

"Whats he doing down there?"Arthur asked

"Maybe he let it in" James scowled

"No" Lily and _Sirius_ said at the same time

Sirius raised an eyebrow at the older version of him but he just shook his head

"**What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"**

"**Search me."**

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.**

"**He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.**

"**Can you smell something?"**

**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean."**

"Shit" _Remus_ hissed under his breath

"**And then they heard it — a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed — at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long."**

"Eww" Ginny said wrinkling her nose in disgust at the description of the creature

"Harry James Potter, Merlin help you if you go anywhere near that thing" James said forcefully

"**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**

"**The key's in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in." "Good idea,"**

"Yeah" Fred said suddenly fearful for his little brothers

"**said Ron nervously. They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll**

**wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.**

"**_Yes_!" Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop — a high, petrified scream — and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.**

"**Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron. "It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped."**

"You locked her in!" George said holding onto his hair just as scared at his twin

"**_Hermione_!" they said together. It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they**

**have?"**

"Tell a teacher" Molly screeched

"By the time we'ed gotten a teacher Hermione could have been seriously hurt... or worse" Ron shivered at the thought of Hermione dead

Molly grudgingly nodded but she did not want her children anywhere near that thing and Harry was as good as a son to her 

"**Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.**

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint."**

"What happened to all the Gryffindor courage" Bill stressed

Hermione looked at him incredulously "I was 11 and there in front of me was a fully grown mountain troll with a club! What would you have done?" 

"**The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.**

"**Confuse it!"**

"Good idea" 

"**Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.**

**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went."**

"Not a good idea"

"**Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron"**

Despite the tense situation Percy chuckled "Not the best time to insult a mountain Ron"

"**from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead,"**

Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ginny all subconsciously moved closer to Ron ** "giving Harry time to run around it.**

"**Come on, run, _run_!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.**

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.**

**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid:"**

Everyone in the room groaned

"It was definitely more stupid than brave" Hermione said

Everyone groaned again

"**He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind."**

"What were you thinking" _Sirius_ yelled in fright

"I was thinking I had to stop it somehow" Harry said trying to reason with his stressed out God-father

"You couldn't have done anything else besides jumping on its back?" he asked

Harry just shrugged in reply as _Sirius_ tried to calm

"But its in his nature to jump on the back of things" Charlie smirked as Harry burst out laughing

"Umm What are you talking about?" Draco asked

"In one of the first couple of chapters I jumped on the back of my uncle because he wouldn't give me my letter" Harry explained trying not to laugh anymore

The room was filled with laughter a short moment later

"**The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped — it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils."**

Both Sirius' were having a hard time trying not laugh

"**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.**

**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand — not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"**

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over — and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head."**

"Way to go little brother" Fred and George said clapping Ron the back

"**The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble."**

"And you said first years couldn't survive a fight with a troll" Harry said shooting a smug look Sirius' way

"I've been proven wrong, I don't think I'll ever underestimate you three again" he said

"Good idea because these three have done some extraordinary things in their school years" Ginny said jerking her head to the three friends who had a pink tinge on their cheeks

"**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.**

**It was Hermione who spoke first. "Is it — dead?" "I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out." He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue."**

Lily, Ginny, Hermione and Molly all wrinkled their noses

"**Urgh - troll boogers." He wiped it on the troll's trousers. A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart."**

"You have to admit" Ron muttered to Harry "The guys a pretty good actor"

Harry scowled but nodded

"**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind."**

Ginny raised an eyebrow at Harry who smiled innocently

"You really thought you were going to win fifty points for risking your life?" she asked

"Hey it works in the next couple of years" a cheeky grin appeared on his face

Ginny rolled her eyes but learnt in kiss him but was stopped when Ron cleared his throat

"The chapters not finished you know" he said

"Oh sorry here you go you can finish it if you want to" Harry said chucking the open book onto Ron's lap as he proceed to snog Ginny

Ron sighed and continued the chapter

"**What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"**

**Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down."**

"Sorry" Ron said in a loud sarcastic voice trying to get the couple to stop but no progress

"**Then a small voice came out of the shadows. "Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me." "Miss Granger!" Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last. "I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them." Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright**

**lie to a teacher?"**

"The world must becoming to an end" George said fainting into the other twins arms who rolled him off him and onto the floor

"Thanks Fred" George said sarcasticly rubbing his shoulder "I'm really feelin the brotherly love now"

"**If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."**

**Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them."**

"And you failed miserably" Hermione nodded

"**Well — in that case . . ." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"**

**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets."**

"If he ever did they'ed be poisoned or something" Harry said wrapping an arm around Ginny's waist

"Decided to come out for air have you?" Ron asked

Harry just rolled his eye's as _Sirius_ spoke

"You got some guts Harry, doing that in front of her whole family"

"**Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their Houses."**

**Hermione left. Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron. "Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."**

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**

"**We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled. "Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."**

"**Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we _did _save her."**

"**She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Pig snout," they said and entered. The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.**

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."**

"So thats how the Golden Trio became friends" Fred said

"The what?" Hermione asked

"The Golden Trio, Thats what everybody calls you three" George explained

The three just nodded

"You know normal people make friends through books, classes and things like that" _Remus_ said "But no you three had to become friends by knocking out a troll"

"What can I say were not like normal people" Harry said

"Got that right" Ron muttered "Mrs Potter your next" he passed over the book to Lily

"Mrs Potter sounds nice. But please just call me Lily" she said looking at Ron who nodded

"The next Chapter is called" Lily said flipping through the pages **"Quidditch"**

_**Yay I'm done. I hope you liked this chapter because I feel it was one of my better ones, People have reviewed to try and put the older Weasleys in there more so I'm trying as much as I can.**_

_**A Big thanks to **__**Caly Black and Saphy18 for favouriting 'The eye's weren't the only thing'**_

_**And is it just me or is Darren Criss' Verion of 'Wanna Be Startin Something' on Glee Totally Awesome?**_


	13. Quidditch

_**Hey faithful readers sorry for the wait. I have no excuse but shear laziness... please don't kill me and a massive thanks to **_**HarryPotterNut94, **_**Phub, artemisrocks1, XoxMountainGirlxoX, hannahdaspannah, hannahdaspannah, Water Child 1990, **__**OpenBookLina(You have reveiwed so many chapters and I would just like to say a very big thanks to you)**____**, **__**animaniac148, CRAZY 24824 hp, Nakieltra, Fhaatra Joysword, LuminousLuna, balise89, **__**Roxie i do byte( Who also review lots of chapters thanks thanks heaps)**__**, Ginevra Molly Potter, would-you-like-greeneggs-n-ham, mizz-shy-gurl, RaeNSesshy4Life,**__**chipmunk93, Maryfer7, SiriuslySirius99, taybabes and merdarkandtwisty**__**. Thanks you again for reading this story and for all the support you have given me :).**_

_**Last time on U E B 1**_

"_Mrs Potter sounds nice. But please just call me Lily" she said looking at Ron who blushed a little but nodded_

"_The next Chapter is called" Lily said flipping through the pages **"Quidditch"**_

"Awwwww Lily pleeeease let me read this chapter" James pleased giving her his best puppy dog look

"I'm sorry James its my turn you'll just have to wait your turn" Lily smirked as James pouted and Sirius and Remus started to snicker.

"**As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.**

**The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin."**

"Always a great match" Fred said nodding his head

Draco smiled looking down, it always was fun playing the Lions even if they always lost

"**If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the House Championship.**

**Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn't know which was worse — people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress."**

"Telling you that you'll be brilliant, wouldn't it?" Charlie questioned

"Maybe for some people but for me it just added on to the pressure and expectation of my first game" Harry explained as Charlie nodded in understanding

"**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn't know how he'd have gotten through all his homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do. She had also lent him _Quidditch Through the Ages, _which turned out to be a very interesting read."**

"Why yes it is" Sirius said

"Probably the only book you've ever read Padfoot"

"Why yes it is" Sirius said again turning to look at his friend a smirk on his face

James laughed while Remus and Lily rolled their eyes.

"**Harry learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473;"**

"Now that would have been a great match to see" Bill said to which most of the room noddedin agreement

"**that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.**

**Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll,"**

"You were corrupting her from the very beginning" Molly said shaking her head with a smile on her face

"Hey we didn't do that much lets not forget who lied to McGonagall straight to her face" Ron said as Hermione's cheeks tinged pink 

"**and she was much nicer for it. The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar."**

"Nice" Bill said nodding his head

"**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping. Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.**

"**What's that you've got there, Potter?" It was _Quidditch Through the Ages. _Harry showed him.**

"**Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**

James sneezed "Oh sorry, I must me allergic to bull shit" he said earning a smack at the back of the head from lily and laughs from both Remus' both Sirius' Harry, Ron, Fred, George, Charlie, Percy, Bill, Ginny and a small snort from Draco

"**He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"**

"**Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.**

**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. She would never let them copy ("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway."**

"At least theres that" Arthur said while Harry and Ron had sheepish looks on their faces

"**Harry felt restless. He wanted _Quidditch Through the Ages _back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape?"**

"yeah you show the greasy hair bat" Sirius said pumping his fist in the air

"**Getting up, he told Ron and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.**

"**Better you than me," they said together,"**

"Very brave" Draco muttered

"**but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening. He made his way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing. Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try. He pushed the door ajar and peered inside — and a horrible scene met his eyes.**

**Snape and Filch were inside, alone. Snape was holding his robes above his knees."**

"Holy mother of Merlin I'm never going to be able to get that image out of my head" Percy cried into his hands as the rest of the men in the room has gone a sickly green colour letting a disgusted shudder run down their spines 

"**One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.**

"**Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**

**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but —**

"**POTTER!"**

"Ah crap" Charlie muttered

"**Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.**

"**I just wondered if I could have my book back."**

Bill let out a low whistle "If that was me I would have been sprinting back to the common room by then" 

"**GET OUT! _OUT _!" Harry left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor. He sprinted back upstairs. "Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry joined them. "What's the**

**matter?" In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen. "You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him — he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick _he _let that troll in, to make a diversion!"**

"I really should have taken you up on that bet mate" Ron learned over to mutter to Harry who scowled at him

**Hermione's eyes were wide.**

"**No — he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe." "Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"**

"Yeah what is the thing guarding" Bill asked

"By the looks of their faces" Charlie said pointing to the trio "They know but they aren't going to tell us"

"**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same question. Neville was snoring loudly, but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind — he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours — but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget.**

**The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.**

"**You've got to eat some breakfast." "I don't want anything."**

"You need you get your strength up Harry" James yelled at the book leaning forward in his chair

"**Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione. "I'm not hungry." Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field. "Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."**

"Thats a great thing to say to an eleven year who is playing his first match" Sirius said dryly ** "Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.**

**By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.**

**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row."**

Ginny started to giggle "Dean the west ham fan"

"**As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. It said _Potter for President, _and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors."**

"I don't think I ever thanks you for that" Harry said

"Its nothing" Hermione said waving her hand

"**Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).**

**Wood cleared his throat for silence.**

"**Okay, men," he said. "And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.**

"And Women" Fred said

"This is it, the big one" Harry continued

"The one we've been waiting for" George finished as the rest the room proceeded to laugh

"**And women," Wood agreed. "This is it." "The big one," said Fred Weasley. "The one we've all been waiting for," said George. "We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were**

**on the team last year." "Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else." "Right. Its time. Good luck, all of you." Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and,**

**hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers.**

**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.**

"**Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said,"**

"does she really think that if Slytherin and Gryffindor are playing they are going to play fair with each other?, she should know by now that Gryffindor/Slytherin games are always played dirty" Sirius said with a snort

"She can always hope" Molly said 

"**once they were all gathered around her. Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a fifth year. Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him."**

"he does" Draco said wrinkling his nose

"could you imagine having a child with a troll, that would not be a pleasant experience" Bill said going a sickly green colour

"**Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing _Potter for President _over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver."**

James face split into a small smile, he was so glad Harry had such good friends like he did

"**Mount your brooms, please." Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off. "And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor — what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too —"**

"I like this kid already" Sirius said laughing

"Everyone likes his commentary, its very entertaining" Ron snickered

"**JORDAN!" "Sorry, Professor." The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall. "And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve — back to Johnson and — no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Flint flying like an eagle up there — he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle — that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and — OUCH — that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger"**

The occupants of the room all winced as one

"— **Quaffle taken by the Slytherins — that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger — sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which"**

"Thanks mate" Fred said rolling his eyes

"can't really blame him though some people can't tell you apart when you on the groud let alone flying around 100s of meters in the air" Charlie reasoned

"— **nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes — she's really flying — dodges a speeding Bludger — the goal posts are ahead — come on, now, Angelina — Keeper Bletchley dives — misses — GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"**

James and Sirius proceed to cheer loudly at the goal. It wasn't until Lily and Remus put silencing charms on them did they finally shut up.

"**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins. "Budge up there, move along." "Hagrid!" Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough**

**space to join them.**

"**Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"**

"**Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."**

"**Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin',"**

"Wont last for long, knowing you" Ginny said dryly

Harry just kissed the top of her head in response and motioned for Lily to continue reading which she did with a small smile on her face, not knowing that this smile was about to be pushed right off her face.

"**said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry. Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan. "Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be." When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings."**

Ron chuckled "That was pretty cool to watch"

"**Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it. "All right there, Harry?"**

"Thanks you" Lily said

"don't worry bout it" Fred said

"**he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint. "Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the — wait a moment — was that the Snitch?"**

**A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear."**

"idiot" Malfoy hissed

"**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch — all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch."**

"It was quite a sight, small young Harry going head to head against a big guy like Higgs" Fred said a dreamy look in his eyes

"**Harry was faster than Higgs — he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead — he put on an extra spurt of speed —**

**WHAM!"**

"What!" James roared

"**A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below — Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose,"**

"Foul!" James and Sirius screemed at the small book in Lily's hands

"Guys" Remus yelled over the noise "sensitive hearing here" covering his ears with his hands 

"**and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.**

"**Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.**

**Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.**

**Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"**

"**What are you talking about, Dean?" said Ron.**

"**Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"**

"**But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminded him. Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side. "They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air." Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. "So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —"**

"I really like this kid" James said having calmed down after his shouting match

"**Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall. "I mean, after that open and revolting foul —"**

More laugher followed this line

"**_Jordan, I'm warning you _—" "All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which**

**could happen to anyone,"**

"What would we do without Lee commentating" Fred said happily

"**I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."**

**It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch."**

"Whats happening?" James said grabbing on to Lily's hand 

"**For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that. It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off. But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off."**

"No They don't, why is this happening?" Sirius said furrowing his eyebrows

"**Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal posts — he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out — and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.**

**Lee was still commentating.**

"**Slytherin in possession — Flint with the Quaffle — passes Spinnet — passes Bell — hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose — only joking, Professor — Slytherins score — oh no . . ."**

**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.**

"**Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom . . . but he can't have. . . ."**

**Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands."**

"Finally they've noticed you" Ginny breathed a sigh of relief

"**His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on."**

"How are you still on the damn broomstick?" Charlie asked

"**Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand."**

"Bloody Hell!" Bill yelled

James was almost to the point of hyperventilating by this point and Lily had one of his hands in a death grip trying to calm herself down while still reading.

"**Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.**

"**Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic — no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."**

**At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd."**

"Smart Girl" Sirius muttered

"**What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced. "I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape —"**

"SNAPE!" James yelled jumping out of his seat in anger

"Dad! You need to calm down Snape was doing the counter curse he was trying to save my life" Harry said trying to get his dad to see reason

James took a deep breath and nodded, still read in the face and sat down

"**look." Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath."**

"Wait, if he's doing the counter curse who is actually cursing you?" Remus asked looking at the trio

"Don't even bother asking Moony you know their not going to tell us anything important" Sirius said patting his friend on the arm

"**He's doing something — jinxing the broom," said Hermione. "What should we do?" "Leave it to me." Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared."**

"What are you up to" Percy asked giving Hermione a weary look

"**Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms,"**

Molly smiled at the boys helping out Harry 

"**but it was no good"**

Her smile slipped right off her face

"— **every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell."**

"Thanks for that" Harry said looking at the twins

"Its fine but if only we could have been there in third year" George muttered the last part to Fred who nodded in agreement. Watching Harry fall off that broom one of the scariest things they've seen happen, by then Harry was apart of the family and they hated seeing their family get hurt

"**Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing."**

"Dirty cheat" Charlie hissed

"**Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately.**

**Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front."**

Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's eyes widened in realization

"Thanks for that" Harry whispered to Hermione as he leant across Ron who heard and nodded along with this statement 

"**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes."**

The room exploded with laughter, everyone besides Lily, Molly, Arthur and Malfoy where all doubled over in laughter, tears running down their faces and clutching their sides in pain.

It took all of five minutes for everyone to stop laughing but everyone still had huge grins on their faces

"that was LEGENDARY" James said jumping up and bowing at Hermione who blushed like a Weasley

"Harry, you've chosen good people for friends I approve" he said turning to Harry beaming

Lily rolled her eyes and continued reading

"**It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row — Snape would never know what had happened."**

"Genius" Sirius said

"**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom."**

Everyone let out the breath they didn't realise they were holding

"**Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes."**

"Aww thats sweet" Molly cooed

"**Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick — he hit the field on all fours — coughed — and something gold fell into his hand."**

"you caught the snitch in you mouth?" Charlie asked astounded

Harry nodded sheepishly

"Wow" Charlie said in wonder

"**I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.**

"**He didn't _catch _it, he nearly _swallowed _it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference — Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results — Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Harry heard none of this, though. He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione."**

"Awww we got snacks and everything for the after party" Fred whined pouting

"Sorry if I didn't come to the after party because I couldn't stop shaking" Harry said sarcasticly

"You should be" George huffed and turned away from Harry who rolled his eyes

"**It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."**

"**Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"**

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.**

"**I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."**

**Hagrid dropped the teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?"**

"Fluffy" Molly asked astounded

"thats what it say

"**he said. "_Fluffy_?" "Yeah — he's mine — bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year — I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the —" "Yes?" said Harry eagerly. "Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is." "But Snape's trying to _steal _it." "Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort." "So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione. The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape."**

"When you think someone's trying to kill you best friend you opinion of them does tend to change" Hermione said

"**I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!" "I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh — yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel —"**

"Hargrid" Ginny cried "Now you've got them curious their never gonna stop now"

"**Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"**

**Hagrid looked furious with himself."**

"well thats the end of the chapter" Lily said marking the page as she closed it "James your next" she said tossing it to her boyfriend who caught it and opened it up to the next page.

"**The Mirror Of Erised" **He read

_**Okay please don't kill me for the long wait but I'm just really lazy with updates and I kept procrastinating sooooooo yeah.**_

_**Thanks to **_


	14. Sorry Note Holy Crap I'm Alive

Hey so um sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry a thousand times sorry for not updating this story and anything else for almost 2 years im awful. BUT a MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed and subscribed and favourite the story and didn't abandon it like I almost bit but im not so yeah. Again I'm awful and you're amazing

xxxxx

Rachel Weasley 99

p.s next chapter should be up soon because I'm working on it as you are reading this note! xxxx


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